Author: Paul Ploumis25 May 2015 Last updated at 05:12:06 GMT
(Kitco News) - Low liquidity and a stronger U.S. dollar Friday are pressuring gold prices to end the week in negative territory.
Friday morning’s stronger than expected core inflation data helped drag down gold as talk of a possible July rate hike entered the marketplace. A strong U.S. dollar and gold’s weak performance has dampened earlier enthusiasm in the marketplace as results of the Kitco weekly Wall Street vs. Main Street Gold Survey are mixed.
Looking at the results of the online survey, 256 people voted; of those, 104 participants, or 41%, expect to see higher gold prices next week, 117 people, or 46%, expect to see lower prices and 35, or 14%, are neutral.
This week, out of 33 market experts contacted, 19 responded; of those, 8 participants, or 42%, see lower prices, 6 experts, or 32%, see higher prices and 5, or 26%, are neutral on the gold market. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders and technical-chart analysts.
After three correct predictions, Main Street missed the market as the previous survey showed that the majority expected to see higher prices; however, most market experts were left disappointed as they were also bullish on prices heading into the week.
Although more people in the online survey are bearish on gold prices next week, Peter Degraaf, a commentator for Kitco.com, said that he remains bullish in the short-term even if he thinks prices could dip in June.
“May is usually a ‘gold-positive’ month, and the Commercial traders report shows that we’ve had a recent bottom in their ‘net short’ positions,” he said.
Among the market experts, Mark Leibovit, editor of VR Gold Letter, said that he is bullish on gold as the market appears a “tad oversold here and cyclical work is positive.”
Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, said that he remains neutral on the yellow metal as the market has now widened its range between support at $1,180 an ounce and resistance at $1,230 an ounce.
He added that the European Central Bank’s plan to front load its bond-purchase program should help to support gold prices; however, a stronger U.S. dollar on rising interest rate expectations should dampen any gold rally.
“Both sides have a case so we could see a lot of moves back and forth,” he said.
Courtesy: Kitco News
