Gold enjoyed a very nice rally yesterday, as the yellow metal advanced $21 to the $1,260 level, a gain of roughly 1.7%. The move was precipitated by more negative news out of the Trump administration.
Although many market observers point to political unrest as the primary reason for the rise, we believe the underlying fundamentals have been in place for some time and will continue to push the gold price higher as the year advances.
With gold recently rebounding off of technical support in the $1,220 range late last week, any uncertainty in the political or geopolitical arena should act as a catalyst in support of this current move higher. Last night's appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate the Russia's influence on the election only adds to this uncertainty.
Stalling equity prices also bolster gold's appeal as investors begin to acknowledge risk in the marketplace and seek safe-haven investments to protect gains. Recent debt defaults in pension funds, municipalities and Puerto Rico factor into an uncertain economic environment. What's more, global central bank policies, led by the Fed, have left many investors with more angst than usual as easy money policies remain intact.
With precious metals still trading far below their all-time highs, the wealth preservation component of gold is certainly intact as dollar weakness adds one more leg in support of higher gold. The dollar has fallen to its lowest level since November 2016, so it is no surprise that gold has benefited from this weakness in "King Dollar."
Although most "event-driven" rallies tend to fail after a short time, this rally is not only an event-driven bull run. Events may be the catalyst behind the move but several fundamental factors favoring higher prices have been firmly in place.
The summer months can be quite volatile, but we should continue to see the gold market grind higher.
David Yoe Williams Jr. is a principal at Strategic Gold, a Naples, Fla.-based firm that buys and stores physical gold for investors.
