- Gold falls out of favor as capital piles into the US Dollar, Bitcoin and Stocks.
- Donald Trump is now expected almost certainly to be the next US President.
- Technically, XAU/USD extends its short-term downtrend to key support.
Gold (XAU/USD) tumbles to below $2,700 on Wednesday due to the US Dollar (USD) strengthening after Republican nominee Donald Trump was named the winner of the US presidential election.
Trump won with 277 electoral college votes over Vice President Kamala Harris' 224, according to the Associated Press. USD is gaining due to the market view that Trump’s economic agenda and tariffs will strengthen the US Dollar. This, in turn, is negative for Gold since it is mainly priced and traded in USD.
Gold is also losing ground due to capital rotating out of Gold and other safe-havens into riskier assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and equities.
Trump’s claims that he can end the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, though seemingly exaggerated (“I will have that war (Ukraine-Russia) settled in one day – 24hrs,” Trump once said), could also be reducing safe-haven flows into Gold.
Gold losses out as Trump trade fully materializes
Gold loses out to the US Dollar, Bitcoin and US stock index futures as markets celebrate the expected victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) rose over 1.3% to a peak of 105.32 on Wednesday as it became clear Trump was almost certain of winning.
US stock futures were also up during Wednesday's European session, with the S&P 500 futures contract up 2.2% at 5,909 in pre-market trading and the Dow 30 futures contract up over 1.3% to 42,770, as markets rejoiced in anticipation of Trump’s likely lower tax agenda.
Likewise, Bitcoin rose to a new all-time high of $75,407 due to the looser regulatory environment for crypto promised by Trump.
The pivot back into the US Dollar, Bitcoin and stocks, however, saw capital flow out of bonds and commodities, with US Treasuries, Gold, Oil, Silver and Copper all falling.
Technical Analysis: XAU/USD finds support at key level
Gold falls to support at $2,709, the base of a former range, as it trends lower. The precious metal is probably now in a short-term downtrend and, given the principle that “the trend is your friend,” it is vulnerable to further weakness in the near term.
XAU/USD 4-hour Chart
A break below the range and the daily low at $2,701 would confirm a lower low and further weakness. Such a move would probably fall to the next support level at $2,687, the September 26 swing high.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is falling in line with price, suggesting bearish pressure accompanies the downward trend.
That said, the precious metal remains in an uptrend on a medium and long-term basis, and a material risk remains that it could reverse course and begin rising in line with these broader up cycles. However, there are no technical signs of this happening yet.
A break above the all-time high of $2,790 would re-confirm the medium-term uptrend and probably lead to a move up to resistance at $2,800 (whole number and psychological number), followed by $2,850.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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