Gold Prices Fall; Central Banks Decision in Focus

Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Tuesday in Asia as traders await decisions from multiple central banks in the next two weeks.

The European Central Bank is due to meet on Thursday, which is followed by the Bank of Japan and then the U.S. Federal Reserve next week.

Markets widely expect the Fed to cut rates by 25-basis-point at its July 30-31 meeting.

The Fed and the ECB have begun their respective periods of avoiding public speaking and interviews ahead of monetary policy decisions, leaving markets without further input on policymakers’ outlook for movements for interest rates or stimulus.

Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were down 0.6% to $1,418.05 a troy ounce by 12:21 AM ET (4:21 GMT).

Rising stock markets in Asia were cited as putting pressure on the safe-haven gold. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained more than 1%, while other major markets also traded in the green.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said the Japanese yen is a cheaper option than gold for traders looking for safe-haven assets.

“Implied volatility and options-call skew are expensive now for gold and buying calls on the yen appears attractive,” analysts at Goldman said in a note cited by Bloomberg. “With gold positioning becoming more stretched, the yen might be a more attractive hedge tactically.”

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