Isa- Demand is one factor for gold prices but there are many others too. t31 Aug 2019 16:00
As Sotolo says Isa, there any many influences that affect the price of gold. Demand is one, but there are many others. Gold is looked upon as a currency in its own right, and one that does not pay interest. So if interest rates affect the demand for a domestic currency as to whether it rises or not, it can also affect Gold in that it has no interest to lose and so is worth more when interest rates are low or lowered. Lower interest rates encourage growth but will also increase inflation risks. Higher interest rates make the price of money greater for a given economy reducing growth but will make the same given currency worth more until inflation is taken into account. Gold can also be used therefore as a hedge against inflation. If Stocks fall then bond yields are likely to increase in comparison and quite often bond holders will buy ETF'S such as Gold. The USD is also looked upon as a safe haven, as is Gold. At the moment we have a trade war between USA and China affecting tariffs on trade. Stocks have fallen, and the USD has risen in comparative terms as a safe haven. However the US Fed have just cut 0.25 off their rate, the President of the US is trying to get them with political influence to reduce rates even more to encourage the US economy to grow and to make US products being exported cheaper to compete on trade and in particular against the Chinese tariffs imposed on US good being imported. In the same way Mr Trump has accused the Chinese Govt of manipulating their own currency to make it cheaper and negate the effects of the US Tariffs. We are currently in a good place for high/higher Gold prices and what with all of our own UK problems sterling is low against the dollar. As Gold is rated and put a value on it dollars when we convert our profits from USD to GBP we are therefore are in a very good place at the moment with CEY and that is why I rate it as a strong buy.