"Why Gold Rose Sharply and What Is Coming Next"

(July 20, 2017 - by JFD Research)

Gold picked up more than 2.4% since Monday, July 10, thanks to the fragility of the U.S. dollar. The rising momentum started last week, following the disappointing figure of U.S. CPI and retail sales while this week, U.S. President Donald Trump’s defeat helped it advance further. Meanwhile, the Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s two-day semi-annual testimony last week failed to support the currency. Additional push to the gold is the uncertainty surrounding the British economy due to the Brexit talks, which caused traders to prefer commodities and commodity currencies in general for their investments.

In the U.S., two Republican Senate members announced that they would not support the healthcare reform and repeal Obamacare. The healthcare program is a key part of Trump’s agenda, and traders are concerned whether he will be able to convince Congress for his other main acts, which are tax reform and fiscal spending.

Overall, the U.S. economy is performing well with a very strong employment sector. The jobless rate is 4.3% while a robust number of jobs are added every month, approaching full employment. The thorn of the economy is the headline CPI figure which is falling well below Fed’s 2% target, even though the conditions are there for the inflation rate to move up as Yellen stated.