The gold ETFs had seen an outflow equivalent to US$ 1.40 billion in the last month, accelerating a trend seen in the last three months. But the prices edged higher to 1860 levels in a swift bounce-back from the 1760 levels. This bounce- back has been occasioned by the only factor that could be in favour of higher gold prices, that is, the rising inflation and the higher inflation expectations. The gain in gold prices in the last one month is to the tune of 1.50 %, and this rise is despite the rising interest rates and yields, and also in spite of the equity markets still doing quite well. That the persistently high prices is a dampener on consumer sentiment and that it may pull down consumer confidence with higher inflationary expectations may give more space for the camel in the tent. The extent to which gold prices can rise would be a function of how strong the measures taken by the central banks are to tackle the price situation. As indicated in our full-fledged update on gold earlier, the charts indicate technical levels 1760 and 1720 as good support levels…. but the upside looks limited at this point in time to 1890 and 1930.
