Preparing for THE Bottom: Part 3 - Gold to Silver Ratio
Gold Forecast and News
Gold advances to $2,650 area as US yields edge lower
Following a consolidation phase near $2,640, Gold gains traction and rises to the $2,650 area. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield pushes lower after weak macroeconomic data releases from the US, helping XAU/USD stretch higher.
Latest XAU/USD News
XAU/USD Technical Overview
From a technical perspective, the recent range-bound price action might still be categorized as a bearish consolidation phase against the backdrop of last week's decline. Adding to this, this week's breakdown below a four-day-old ascending channel favors bearish traders. That said, neutral oscillators on the daily chart suggest that any further slide below the overnight swing low, around the $2,622-2,621 area, might continue to find some support near the $2,600 mark. Some follow-through selling, meanwhile, might expose the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), currently around the $2,579-2,78 zone, below which the Gold price could retest the November monthly trough, around the $2,537-2,536 region.
On the flip side, the $2,655 area, followed by the $2,666 region might act as immediate strong barriers. The next relevant hurdle is pegged near the $2,677-2,678 zone, above which the Gold price could aim to reclaim the $2,700 round figure. Any further move up is likely to confront stiff resistance near the $2,721-2,722 supply zone. A sustained strength beyond the latter might shift the bias in favor of bullish traders and pave the way for some meaningful appreciating move in the near term.
Fundamental Overview
Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts some sellers following an intraday uptick to the $2,650 supply zone and hits a fresh daily low during the first half of the European session on Wednesday. The precious metal, however, remains confined in a familiar range held over the past week or so as traders seem reluctant to place aggressive directional bets ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's speech. Investors will look for cues about the future rate-cut path, which, in turn, will drive the US Dollar (USD) demand and provide some meaningful impetus to the commodity.
Meanwhile, easing fears of a significant slowdown in the US labor market and expectations that Trump's expansionary policies will boost inflation suggest that the Fed might adopt a cautious stance on cutting rates. The outlook remains supportive of a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields, which act as a tailwind for the USD and undermine demand for the non-yielding Gold price. That said, persistent geopolitical tensions, worries about US President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans and political turmoil in South Korea should limit losses for the safe-haven XAU/USD.
SPECIAL WEEKLY FORECAST
Interested in weekly XAU/USD forecasts? Our experts make weekly updates forecasting the next possible moves of the gold-dollar pair. Here you can find the most recent forecast by our market experts:
Gold: Easing geopolitical tensions trigger profit-taking Premium
Gold (XAU/USD) declined sharply on easing geopolitical concerns on Monday and spent the rest of the week trying to recover its losses. Employment-related macroeconomic data releases from the US could alter the expectations about the Federal Reserve’s policy decision in December and trigger the next big action in XAU/USD.
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Editors' picks
EUR/USD holds near 1.0500 ahead of Powell speech
EUR/USD holds steady at around 1.0500 in the American session on Wednesday. The weaker-than-expected ADP Employment Change and the ISM Services PMI data hurt the USD and help the pair keep its footing. Fed Chairman Powell will speak later in the day.
GBP/USD recovers toward 1.2700 after US data
Following a pullback, GBP/USD edges higher toward 1.2700 in the second half of the day on Wednesday as the US Dollar loses strength following the disappointing data releases. Markets eagerly await Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech.
USD/JPY clings to intraday gains around mid-150.00s ahead of Fed’s Powell
USD/JPY gains strong positive traction on Wednesday, though the upside potential seems limited. Less dovish Fed expectations push the US bond yields higher and undermine the lower-yielding JPY. December BoJ rate hike bets and subdued USD demand might cap the pair ahead of Fed’s Powell.
Gold advances to $2,650 area as US yields edge lower
Following a consolidation phase near $2,640, Gold gains traction and rises to the $2,650 area. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield pushes lower after weak macroeconomic data releases from the US, helping XAU/USD stretch higher.
Crude Oil steady after API came in as surprise build ahead of OPEC+ and EIA
Oil price turns flat after having peaked above $70.00 briefly with US stockpiles building. Tensions brew in the Middle East with President-elect Donald Trump vowing to iniate war if Israeli hostages are not released. The US Dollar Index ticks up on Fed officials pushing back on odds for a rate cut in December.
Majors
Cryptocurrencies
Signatures
XAU/USD YEARLY FORECAST
How could XAU/USD move this year? Our experts make a XAU/USD update forecasting the possible moves of the gold-dollar pair during the whole year. Don't miss our 2024 XAU/USD forecast!
2024 FORECAST FOR XAU/USD
In the XAU/USD Price Forecast 2024, our analyst, Eren Sengezer, notes that Gold carries its bullish potential into early 2024 on prospects of a looser Fed policy, lower US bond yields and a weaker USD. A downturn in the global economy, however, could weigh on demand and limit the precious metal’s gains. A lack of progress in the Fed’s efforts to lower inflation, on the other hand, could cause XAU/USD to turn south. Read more details about the forecast.
MOST INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL EVENTS IN 2024 FOR XAU/USD
The Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and the Israel-Hamas dispute in 2023 underscored Gold's appeal as a safe-haven asset in uncertain times. Further escalation in the Middle East or a resurgence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict may push Gold prices higher.
A potential re-election of former President Donald Trump could involve a 10% tariff on foreign goods and a four-year plan to reduce essential Chinese imports. This could complicate the Federal Reserve's task of lowering inflation to the 2% target and strain relations with China, negatively affecting Gold's demand outlook.
Gold/Silver Ratio
This ratio normally goes well during risk aversion, while it falls off during times of risk-on. If this ratio is about to turn, or at key levels where it could turn, the
trader looks to the Equity indices if the risk has indeed been on and if it is about to turn as well.
When the ratio is rising, it means gold is outperforming silver, and when the line is falling, the first term is doing worse, i.e., silver is doing better. In other words, when the ratio is high, the general consensus is that silver is favored. Conversely, a low ratio tends to favor gold and may be a signal it’s a good time to buy the yellow metal. Despite the gold-to-silver ratio fluctuating so wildly, another way of using it is to switch holdings between silver and gold when the ratio swings to historically determined "extremes."
Read more about gold versus silver:
About Gold
XAU/USD, GOLD
In the Forex market, gold is a form of currency. The particularity of gold is that it can only be traded against United States dollars (USD). The internationally accepted code for gold is XAU. It is known to be a “safe-haven” asset, it is expected to increase its value in times of volatility and economic uncertainty.
The XAU/USD pair tells the trader how many US Dollar (the quote currency) are needed to purchase one Gold Ounce (the base currency). United States is the country that holds the biggest resources of gold in the world.
ORGANIZATIONS THAT INFLUENCE XAU/USD THE MOST
- WGC (World Gold Council), the market development organisation for the gold industry whose aim is to stimulate and sustain demand for that commodity.
- LBMA, London Bullion Market Association, whose members conduct trading in this wholesale over-the-counter market for the trading of gold and silver. It is loosely overseen by the Bank of England. Most of the members are major international banks or bullion dealers and refiners.
- COMEX (Commodity Exchange Inc.), the primary market for trading metals. The COMEX merged with the New York Mercantile exchange (NYMEX) in 1994 and became the division responsible for metals trading.
- Zurich Gold Pool founded in 1968 by the largest banks in Switzerland after the collapse of the London Gold Pool.
- CGSE, the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society (see above the importance of China in terms of gold reserve).
PEOPLE THAT INFLUENCE XAU/USD THE MOST
- David Harquail, the World Gold Council’s Chairman
- Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary
- Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
ECONOMIC DATA THAT INFLUENCE XAU/USD THE MOST
The main indicators that traders should watch to understand where gold is standing are:
- Demand vs Supply for the commodity
- Struggling markets or context of currency devaluation: gold is known to be a haven for investors in times of economic uncertainty or when any country sees its currency devaluing
- Practical applications: technology invents, jewellery use, etc
ASSETS THAT INFLUENCE XAU/USD THE MOST
- Currencies: USD and EUR. Other important group of influent pairs includes: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, NZD/USD and USD/CAD.
- Commodities: Silver, the other most important precious metal commodity together with Gold.
- Bonds: Bund (the German word for "bond", a debt security issued by Germany's federal government) and T-Note (Treasury Note, a marketable U.S. government debt security)
- Indices: Hui (AMEX Gold BUGS), XAU (Philadelphia Gold and Silver Sector Index) and GDM (NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index) The most important stock exchanges are the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX), the Chicago Board of Trade, the Euronext/LIFFE, the London Bullion Market, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the Bolsa der Mercadorias e Futuros and the Korea Futures Exchange.
