Finance News

Story: Gold Drops Under $5,000 Mark as Dollar Rallies During Thin Holiday Trading

By James Thorp

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Gold took a hit Monday. The precious metal fell nearly 1% and slipped below the key $5,000 level as the US dollar flexed its muscles during what traders call a "dead" session…

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XAU/USD sits at $4,992 right now, down from an early high of $5,054. The culprit? Pretty much nobody's trading today.

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The dollar's strength isn't helping gold's cause.

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Investors seem to want the safety of greenbacks right now, which makes sense given how murky everything feels in the markets.

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Gold and the dollar have this love-hate relationship that goes back decades. When the dollar gets stronger, gold becomes more expensive for people holding euros, yen, or other…

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Traders won't get much clarity until US markets reopen. Economic data and any signals from the Federal Reserve will probably set the tone for where gold heads next.

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But gold's recent strength is getting tested right now. Analysts aren't really sure which way things go from here - it's pretty much all about what the economic numbers show when…

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Chinese markets staying closed for Lunar New Year means Asian trading stays dead for a while longer. That's a big chunk of gold demand that's just not there right now.

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Commodity traders are dealing with a tough situation here. When major markets go dark, price moves don't necessarily reflect what's really happening with supply and demand.

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The US economic calendar becomes the thing to watch next. Any surprise data could jolt gold prices in either direction, though nothing major hits until later this week.

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The World Gold Council pointed out that gold's decline comes after a strong run that peaked at $5,054 earlier this month.

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Jane Foley at Rabobank thinks thin trading conditions stick around until week's end. She's telling traders to stay careful - any unexpected geopolitical news or economic data…

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission reported February 16 that speculative net long positions in gold ticked up slightly.

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HSBC analysts called the $5,000 level psychologically important for gold traders. Breaking below could trigger technical selling and make the decline worse.

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The London Bullion Market Association stressed how important Asian markets are for global gold trade.

The Currency Analytics

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