Chart Of The Day: Trading Gold's Contradictory Signals

 | May 04, 2022 09:34AM ET

According to a recent Reuters poll of 31 analysts and traders, the median price of gold will rise to $1,920 an ounce during the April-June quarter. Despite the strongest dollar in 20 years, which usually pressures the price of the yellow metal as the currency accelerates, it seems gold demand has been holding steady. The result most likely of rising geopolitical risks such as the war in Ukraine and spiking global inflation which spotlights both the safe haven nature of the precious metal and its role as an inflation hedge.

Still, among those surveyed, there was a strong consensus that the price of gold will slump later this year as interest rates accelerate. However, there's another camp that believes that if the Fed's pace of hiking is aggressive, it could undermine economic growth which would be good for the yellow metal.

With gold fundamentals currently contradictory, it's difficult to forecast whether the price will rise on its haven or hedge status or fall amid a flurry of rate hikes. The technical chart could provide some clues via the current supply-demand balance.