Barry Stuppler

China produced 453.5 tons of gold in 2016, a 0.76 percent rise from 2015 which sees the country confirmed as the largest gold producer in the world for the tenth consecutive year . . . .

The question of the hour is whether the 2016 gains were merely a countertrend rally following a four-and-a-half-year decline from all-time highs in 2011, or the beginning of a new leg in the secular bull market that began in 1999 . . . .

Historically, there is an inverse relationship between a U.S. president’s approval rating and gold prices, pointed out HSBC . . . .

Last Friday, Gold closed at $1,205 per ounce, up $54 (5%) since the beginning of the month. What is important about last week is that on all four trading days Gold closed above the key $1,200 per ounce support level  . . . .

Will the Trump Presidency be positive for gold, or not?  On balance, it could well be as Trump is a known believer in the place of gold in the global monetary system . . . .

The price of gold has risen by over 3% in 2017. This already equates to three quarters of its total return from 2016, which shows just how strong its performance has been in the first handful of trading sessions in 2017 . . . .