Currently, the price of gold is facing severe headwinds from the futures markets. Since mid-December it has remained above the $2,000 mark with relative ease.
by Jörg Bernhard
According to the Commitments of Traders report from the US regulator CFTC, the week ended January 30 saw the sharpest drop in over eight months in the number of open contracts (open interest), which reflects general interest in gold futures. Within one week there was a decline from 465,900 to 430,300 contracts (-7.6 percent). As a result of this development, large futures speculators (non-commercials) have scaled back their optimism for the fifth time in a row. Because they reduced their long side by 21,900 contracts, their net long position collapsed within a week from 169,500 to 147,800 futures (-12.8 percent), while among small speculators (non-reportables) there was a marginal increase of 22,600 to 22,700 contracts (+0.4 percent). All of this leads to one main conclusion: the gold price simply does not want to go into lower regions despite the selling pressure from the futures markets.
On Monday morning, the price of gold fell. By 7 a.m. (CET), the most actively traded gold futures (April) had fallen by $8.20 to $2,045.50 per troy ounce.
Advertising
Trade oil, gold, all raw materials with leverage (up to 30) via CFD (starting from €100)
Participate in price fluctuations in oil, gold and other raw materials with leverage and small spreads! With just 100 euros you can trade with leverage with the effect of 3,000 euros of capital.
Plus500: Please note the Hints5 about this advertisement.
Crude oil: Geopolitical risks dominate
Although the Caixin Purchasing Managers’ Index published early this morning was weaker than expected, the price of oil recovered slightly. Since it is trading above 52 points, this indicates that the Chinese economy is growing. Stronger growth can currently be seen in India, where the HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index for January shows 61.2 points. At the start of the week, the fossil fuel reacted positively to the renewed attacks by the US military on the positions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the attack on a Volgograd oil refinery by Ukrainian drones.
On Monday morning, the oil price was higher. By around 7:00 a.m. (CET), the next due date WTI future rose by 0.33 to $72.61, while its Brent counterpart rose by 0.42 to $77.75.
Editorial team finanzen.net