Gold Price Start The Week Higher But Analysts See Volatility On Horizon

                    Gold prices are starting the week on a positive note but analysts are expecting prices to remain volatile with significant economic events looming on the horizon.

Comex August gold opened the Sunday North American evening/Monday Asian session at $1,307.60 an ounce, up from Friday’s pit close of $1,303.30 an ounce. As of 8:45p.m. EDT, August gold was trading at $1,305.30 an ounce, relatively unchanged from Friday’s close.

Electronic trading of Comex September silver futures opened Sunday evening/Monday morning at $20.715 an ounce, slightly up from Friday’s pit close of $20.636 an ounce; as of 8:15 p.m. EDT, September silver was at $20.740 an ounce.

Although gold prices are back above $1,300 after hitting a four-week low earlier last week, analysts at HSBC said they are expecting to see choppy markets during the week, with the scheduled FOMC and U.S. jobs numbers out on Friday. 

“Gold price volatility is likely to pick-up next week with the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on 29-30 July and the July nonfarm payrolls data to be released on 1 August,” the analysts said in a report published late Friday.

Edward Meir, commodities consultant with INTL FCStone said in a research note published Sunday afternoon that gold could find some support early in the week as markets react to continued turmoil in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He also said that a potential default by Argentina, which could come by Thursday, should keep investors on edge and boost gold demand.

However, he added strong economic data later in the week could help create some positive investor sentiment, which would be good for equity markets and bad for gold prices.

Analysts at ANZ Bank are expecting gold to struggle as geopolitical events have started to lose their impact on the gold market.

“We don't expect the latest Middle East tension to be a significant driver of prices over an extended period,” they said in their report published Sunday evening.

Physical demand, which has helped support gold prices in the last appears to be losing some momentum, Meir also noted in his report.

“In the physical markets, there was an outflow of 3.6 tons from the SPDR Gold Trust as of last Thursday,” he said. “China’s net overseas purchases of gold through Hong Kong fell to a 17-month low in June, sliding to 40.54 tons, from 52.60 tons in May and 104.6 tons in the year-ago period.” - kitco.com