Commodity Blog

Gold futures are on track to settle at their best levels in seven years, driven by ballooning demand for the yellow metal. The US dollar is rising simultaneously with gold prices, but the precious metal is rising at a faster pace than the greenback. The interesting aspect of gold is that it is rallying along with the broader financial market. With gold set to top $1,700, will the metal commodity eventually test $2,000 this year?

June gold futures soared $40.80, or 2.48%, to $1,686.40 per ounce at 15:46 GMT on Monday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold is poised to finish the trading session at its best level since January 2013. During the market chaos, gold has been the best-performing asset as it has surged 11% year-to-date.

Silver, the sister commodity to gold, is also rallying to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week. May silver futures surged $0.48, or 3.32%, to $14.975 per ounce. The white metal has traded in the opposite direction of gold, cratering more than 16% on the year.

Will gold be on the march to $2,000?

What is driving gold is skyrocketing demand worldwide. With interest rates back to historical lows, investors will shy away from yield-bearing investments and pour into bullion. At a time when rates could slip into subzero territory and central banks are pumping liquidity into the economy, there will inevitably be more bullish positions in physical deliveries, gold-related equities, and metal exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

During the market mayhem last month, investors were liquidating their metal holdings to get into cash. Right now, traders may not be confident that the worst is over, but they know that trillions of dollars into liquidity has been pumped into the financial system. Even if markets have stabilized, there are concerns about inflation on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic.

Essentially, investors are pouring into stock markets while still staying on defense.

The greenback, meanwhile, continued its streak of gains on Monday, despite the Federal Reserve employing measures that would be negative for the currency. Like gold, investors are still diving into safe-haven assets throughout these uncertain times. The US Dollar Index, which measures the buck against a basket of currencies, jumped 0.04% to 100.61. A strengthening dollar is typically bearish for dollar-denominated commodities because it makes it more expensive for foreign investors to purchase. The main factor in this trading pattern is that gold’s gains are outpacing the currency’s rally.

In other metal markets, May copper futures rose $0.016, or 0.73%, to $2.2085 per pound. June platinum futures picked up $14.60, or 2.03%, to $732.70 an ounce. June palladium futures tumbled $51.00, or 2.42%, to $2,055.00 per ounce.

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