Gold prices rose slightly today , breaking with the longest string of declines in nearly six months, as the dollar fell to strengthen expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will expand its monetary stimulus . Note that , according to John Williams , president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco , the economic growth in the U.S. in recent months, did not meet expectations. In this regard , he noted that the situation in the labor market are unlikely to improve without incentives.
It should be noted that the timing of a possible narrowing of the monthly bond purchases by the Fed was the main factor that influenced the price of gold. Precious metal has lost a fifth of its value so far on fears that the Fed will reduce the volume of stimulation.
Recent mixed economic data cast doubt on the real strength of the U.S. economy, leading some economists were made with the assumption that the Fed will change its policy before the end of the year.
Add that trading volumes were low in the past few sessions , and , most likely, and will remain so in the coming days , as investors are awaiting data on employment in the non-agricultural sector of the economy, which may give more clues about the state of the economy and future incentives by the Fed .
Also, market participants are waiting for the ECB 's interest rate. Improvement in macroeconomic indicators in the U.S. and the UK in sharp contrast with the data from the euro zone , where in the last week have been reported record- high unemployment and negative inflation . It is expected that the ECB will leave rates unchanged , but the dynamics of gold will also depend on the value of the dollar relative to the single European currency.
Demand for physical gold has not grown much as traders are waiting for the determined price direction . Customers in Asia are hoping to wait for a lower price.
The cost of the December gold futures on COMEX today rose to $ 1316.90 per ounce.