Last week, world gold prices fell due to continued pressure from strong economic data and "tough" stances from US Federal Reserve (FED) officials.
According to experts, this week's gold price will have many fluctuations when the market receives a lot of important information such as the purchasing management index report in the manufacturing and service sectors, the number of applications for unemployment benefits and May non-farm payrolls. Besides, the Central Banks' decision on interest rates this week will likely cause the market to recalculate the timing of the FED's interest rate easing.
Marc Chandler, CEO at Bannockburn Global Forex, said that this week the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Canada are likely to cut interest rates. "Gold prices seem ready to go higher and the move above 2,372 USD/ounce is an indicator of precious metal prices conquering the 2,400 USD mark again," said Mr. Marc Chandler.
Sean Lusk, co-head of commercial hedging at Walsh Trading, said that short-term interest rates may have peaked, putting pressure on the USD and possibly causing gold prices to rise again.
According to Kitco News, this week, the majority of experts and retail investors expressed optimism about the short-term prospects of precious metals, with only a few of them keeping a neutral or bearish stance.
Specifically, 6 Wall Street experts (equivalent to 60%) think that gold prices will increase higher this week. 2 analysts (20%,) predict the price will decrease and the remaining 2 investors think the precious metal will move sideways in the short term.