gold trends

Gold hit a two-week high on Friday on a weaker dollar and was set to close 2016 about 9 percent higher, snapping three years of declines . . . .

In more ways than one, 2016 was a roller coaster year. One need only look at gold’s performance to confirm this. After rallying more than 30 percent in the first half, the precious metal stalled in the days before the U.S. election, then retreated on a weekly basis, under pressure from a strengthening dollar and tightening monetary policy . . . .

Swiss bank UBS looks for gold to average $1,350 an ounce in 2017, characterizing the metal as down but not out after significant price declines over the last few weeks . . . .

Inflation can be understood as the destruction of a currency’s purchasing power. To combat this, investors, central banks and families have historically stored a portion of their wealth in gold. I call this the Fear Trade . . . .

America has chosen Donald Trump to be its next President and the world markets, whether metals, gold, bonds, equities or Forex are all highly volatile . . . .

Gold futures dropped Friday to mark their lowest finish since June, as strength in the U.S. dollar and equities this week, and growing expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase next month, fueled the largest weekly decline in more than three years . . . .

To the relief of some but the worry of many others the US election is now just days away. Unlike past elections this one appears to grown more uncertain and fraught the closer it gets . . . .

Unlike paper currency, coins or other assets, gold has maintained its value throughout the ages . . . .

Gold futures have chalked up their best settlement so far this month and the precious metal seems to be defying analyst predictions that it will remain in a holding pattern until after the election. If gold was a funding bill, it would be getting bipartisan support . . . .

Metal remains firm overnight despite Federal Reserve minutes pointing to December increase . . . .