Gold price rises above $2,000 - financial expert analyzes developments on the US futures market

Gold price rises above $2,000 - financial expert analyzes developments on the US futures market

According to a report from www.goldreporter.de, the price of gold exceeded the $2,000 per ounce mark as the expiration date took place on Friday. In euro terms, gold also reached a record high and exceeded the 1,900 mark for the first time. Rising demand for defensive assets influenced the performance of financial markets last week, resulting in weak stock and fixed bond prices and a further rise in the price of gold.

The latest CoT (Commitments of Traders) data shows continued momentum in gold futures trading. The net short position of the “commercials” increased by a further 29 percent to 165,873 contracts, while the net long position of the “large speculators” increased by 30 percent to 147,385 contracts. What was particularly noticeable was the 255 percent increase in the net long position of the “Managed Money” group (hedge funds, investment companies) to 53,748 contracts. At the same time, open interest, i.e. the sum of all open gold contracts, rose by 5.4 percent to 463,476 contracts.

With gold options, however, an opposite trend was observed. Here, open interest fell by 8.8 percent to 956,004 options. However, the put/call ratio, i.e. the ratio of put options to buy options, was overall more optimistic and was 0.504 (previous week: 0.510).

Gold prices hit $2,016.30 an ounce in US futures trading last week, their highest level since May 15, 2023. The decisive price boost came on Friday after gold prices previously hit their weekly low of $1,964. The futures price was recently $10 above the spot price.

Gold inventories in COMEX vaults increased by 20,000 ounces from the previous week to 19.85 million ounces. Gold stocks available for immediate delivery increased by 40,000 ounces to 9.89 million ounces.

The shortfall between traded gold futures contracts and available inventory is justified by the fact that only a fraction of contracts are physically settled. The Securities and Exchange Commission (CFTC) reported 11,532 requests for physical delivery of gold for the contract month of October.

Given the recent rise in gold prices and open interest, signs point to increasing market strength. The price development is attracting more and more futures traders, further reinforcing the positive sentiment.

These developments could potentially have an impact on the market and the financial industry. A rising gold price indicates increased demand for safe investments, which may indicate uncertainty or risk in the market. This could lead to increased investor engagement in the gold market. In addition, increased interest in gold can influence supply and demand and thus further drive up the price.

Reference:
According to a report from www.goldreporter.de