Gold Higher as Stocks Rise

Gold prices got the trading week off on the right foot as the price of gold rose several dollars per ounce today. Gold rise even as stocks traded higher. Gold prices have been trending higher since retesting the $1183 area recently. The gold bulls are starting to gain some momentum, and there are likely more shorts that will get squeezed out before the rally is over.

Investors still seem apprehensive following the volatility seen in recent weeks. Higher volatility and lower stock prices could potentially work in gold's favor. The gold market has several other things in play that may help the bulls right now. In its last remarks, the FOMC sounded a lot more dovish than it did previously. The Fed stated that there are numerous risks to the economy right now including a stronger dollar. The Fed also said that short term rates would remain low for some time. In addition, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard stated last week that perhaps the Fed should hold off on its plan to end its QE program. This is also considered dovish, and may be one of the reasons stocks were able to turn around late last week.

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September hallmarking figures up 18%, 9ct gold continues to shine

Rising hallmarking figures showed no sign of abating in September, as the latest results compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office showed an overall rise of 18.2% across all precious metals, compared with September last year. The standout performer was, as has become the norm this year, gold, with 9ct rising 100,644 items to 360,533 in total – a 38.7% rise. Interestingly, 22ct showed the second largest rise – 38.4% – and overall, gold showed an increase of 34%.

There were more modest rises in other metals, with silver showing a 5.2% rise (most of which was powered by a 5.1% rise in 925, which finished on 433,847 articles), and platinum rising 1.3%. Palladium stayed stationary overall, with exactly the same number of items being hallmarked in total as September last year (7,882).

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