Price of Gold Rises Above US$1,300 an Oz for First Time in 2014
Weak Retail Sales and Slow Job Growth Cited as Reason for Gains in Price of Gold
The price of gold which struggled throughout 2013 hitting a low of $1,110 on June 30th, rose above US $1,300 for the first time in 2014.
Spot gold rose to $1,302.40 an ounce, its highest since Nov. 8. It was last up 0.9 percent at $1,301.79 an ounce by 3:33 p.m. EST.
Gold’s slow but steady rise in price is fuelled by investor concerns about two straight months of weak job growth in the U.S. Adding to investor uncertainty about the U.S. economy were recently released U.S. data on retail sales which experts termed “disappointing”. Financial experts believe the disappointing retail sales data was the reason for the price of gold to increase one percent on the day on Thursday February 13, 2014.
With the fall in retail sales, the U.S. dollar fell 0.5 per cent thus increasing the desirability of gold as a hedge on the seemingly weakening U.S. dollar, but it is too early to tell if this one day gain will carry forward in upcoming days, weeks and months.
Financial analysts believe that the slumping retail sales, combined with two consecutive months of poor job growth have caused some investors to question the strength of the U.S. economy.
One analyst Adam Sarhan interviewed by Reuters News Agency believes gold could start an new upward trend. “Gold could go start a new upward trend following bottoming process in the last six months after holding above US $1,180.
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