FOREX.com by StoneX logo

Why it's not the time to give up on gold

After spiking higher on panic buying in early March, the speed of gold’s retracement has left investors and traders unsure of what comes next.

Global Author
Global Author

Share this:

Why it's not the time to give up on gold

In the initial instance, the retracement in gold from the $2070 high, along with other commodities, came on hopes of a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

While it was doubtful that Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of a neighbouring country and then agree to a ceasefire less than two weeks later, wars are unpredictable. And the market opted to give President Putin the benefit of the doubt.

The pattern that the reversal lower from off the $2070 high created was described in our Morning Brief on March 10th as a “tweezer/double top that could turn out to be one for the ages.”

It was the catalyst that prompted a move to a short-term neutral bias in gold. It was also the catalyst for dramatic position unwind after the trend following CTA community, built their long gold position to a two year high during the run higher.

After falling to as low as $1895 this week, gold has regained some of its shine over the past 48 hours to be trading back near $1940. 

Conflicting narratives continue to surround the status of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, including a report overnight that a Kremlin spokesperson said news of significant progress in Ukraine peace talks was “wrong”.

According to reports from the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency, the stalled Russian offensive increases the probability of Putin making more extreme threats and China providing military aid for Putin.

Finally, the realisation that sovereign reserves are easily freezable provides a reason for Central Banks to evaluate how they hold their reserves. Gold held within a country’s borders cannot be sanctioned or frozen.

The points noted above, along with our previous reasons for holding gold, including as a hedge again inflation and equity market volatility, suggest that it’s not yet time to give up on the bullish medium-term view of gold.

However, gold still needs to see a sustained break above the $2075 double high to signal that the next leg higher has commenced. The target for the move would then be $2250, which would complete a five-wave impulsive advance from the November 2016 $1046 low.

gold daily chart 18th Mar

Source Tradingview. The figures stated areas of March 18th, 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation

How to trade with City Index

You can trade with City Index by following these four easy steps:

  1. Open an account, or log in if you’re already a customer 

    • Open an account in the UK
    • Open an account in Australia
    • Open an account in Singapore

  2. Search for the company you want to trade in our award-winning platform 
  3. Choose your position and size, and your stop and limit levels 
  4. Place the trade

In the initial instance, the retracement in gold from the $2070 high, along with other commodities, came on hopes of a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

While it was doubtful that Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of a neighbouring country and then agree to a ceasefire less than two weeks later, wars are unpredictable. And the market opted to give President Putin the benefit of the doubt. 

The pattern that the reversal lower from off the $2070 high created was described in our Morning Brief on March 10th as a “tweezer/double top that could turn out to be one for the ages.”

It was the catalyst that prompted a move to a short-term neutral bias in gold. It was also the catalyst for dramatic position unwind after the trend following CTA community, built their long gold position to a two year high during the run higher.

After falling to as low as $1895 this week, gold has regained some of its shine over the past 48 hours to be trading back near $1940.

Conflicting narratives continue to surround the status of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, including a report overnight that a Kremlin spokesperson said news of significant progress in Ukraine peace talks was “wrong”.

According to reports from the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency, the stalled Russian offensive increases the probability of Putin making more extreme threats and China providing military aid for Putin.

Finally, the realisation that sovereign reserves are easily freezable provides a reason for Central Banks to evaluate how they hold their reserves. Gold held within a country’s borders cannot be sanctioned or frozen.

The points noted above, along with our previous reasons for holding gold, including as a hedge again inflation and equity market volatility, suggest that it’s not yet time to give up on the bullish medium-term view of gold.

 However, gold still needs to see a sustained break above the $2075 double high to signal that the next leg higher has commenced. The target for the move would then be $2250, which would complete a five-wave impulsive advance from the November 2016 $1046 low.

gold daily chart 18th Mar

Source Tradingview. The figures stated areas of March 18th, 2022. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation

 

  1. Open a Forex.com account, or log in if you’re already a customer.
  2. Search for the pair you want to trade in our award-winning platform.
  3. Choose your position and size, and your stop and limit levels.
  4. Place the trade.

Related tags:

The complete CFD trading experience

Award-winning platforms, competitive spreads, low commissions and dedicated support.

We live and breathe the markets and are dedicated to helping traders realise their ambitions as we continue to set the industry bar.

Economic calendar

Web Trader platform

Our sophisticated web-based platform is packed with features.

Related articles

Gold Q4 2026 outlook: Resilience in the face of rallying dollar and yields

As we headed towards the latter stages of Q3 and into Q4, the Fed had just hiked rates in a hawkish FOMC meeting, while the likes of the ECB and BoJ had also tightened their respective policies. Oil prices remained elevated amid the prolonged US-Iran conflict. Meanwhile, bond yields were breaking out, and the dollar was higher across the board. Yet, remarkably, gold was still holding in the positive territory for the third quarter, even if it had weakened somewhat in September.

StoneX Europe Ltd may make third party material available on this website which may contain information included but not limited to the conditions of financial markets. The material is for information purposes only and does not contain, and should not be construed as containing, investment advice and/or investment recommendation and/or an investment research and/or an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments; any decision to enter into a specific transaction shall be made by the client following an assessment by him/her of their situation.

StoneX Europe Ltd makes no representation or warranty and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, nor any loss arising from any investment based on a recommendation, forecast or other information supplied. You should always seek independent advice as to your suitability to speculate in any related markets and your ability to assume the associated risks, if you are at all unsure. We are not under any obligation to update any such material. Any opinion made may be personal to the author and may not reflect the opinion of StoneX Europe Ltd.

It's your world. Trade it.