Gold prices started out the week markedly lower than expected in the United States trading market. The rise of risk assets and the strengthening of the Euro are spelling trouble for the safe-haven assets that usually see growth with world uncertainties.
A Slump to Start
At opening on Monday, April 24, 2017, gold for the June Comex was at only $1,270 per ounce, which is a $19.10 drop. The U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasuries also experienced a decrease to start the trading week.
The drops are occurring at a time when other investments, including the stock market, are rallying. It doesn’t seem as though tensions around the world and political events are having much of an impact on gold right now.
European Elections Don’t Sway Gold
Over the weekend, the French election showed a slight upset as the nationalist candidate, Marine LePen, didn’t have as much support as expected. This election is going into a runoff on May 7. The results are expected to be close, but Emmanuel Macron, a centrist candidate, is expected to walk away the winner based on early polls.
Even with the uncertainty of elections and the nervousness of investors, the impending runoff election hasn’t had much of an impact on the price of gold. Still, the election in France in a few weeks will be an interesting one to watch, as will the subsequent reaction of the gold market.
Rising Political Tensions
The situation surrounding North Korea is still causing some angst for investors. It seems as though many investors are sort of turning a blind eye toward that situation, at least for now. Even with the standoff between North Korea and the United States threatening world peace since both leaders are a bit reactive, investors aren’t pouring money into the gold market in an effort to have some stability.
Investors don’t even seem too worried about all of the issues happening between the U.S. and Russia either. Between this and the North Korea situation, investors should make sure they pay attention to what is going on since any changes could have sharp impacts on gold prices.
Overall, the next few days are going to be interesting to watch as gold prices might increase around mid-week trading. No matter what, it doesn’t seem like gold prices are going to react much unless something major happens around the world.
