Gold Prices And US Dollar Both Rising

Those who keep up with gold and currency prices have probably noticed that things are a little strange right now. Typically the gold prices work inversely, however, right now they are rising almost instep. Currency expert Kathy Lien explains more about this phenomenon, and offers some insight into what is likely causing it in her blog post below:

If you haven’t caught it already, in my Daily Currency Focus on FX360, I talked about What the Rally in the US Dollar and Gold is Telling Us. As both the Dollar Index and Gold Prices press higher, it important to know what this means:

It is not very often that we see the US dollar and gold prices move in the same direction. Since gold is priced in dollars, the value of the yellow metal tends to fall when the dollar rises and rise when the dollar falls. However this has not been the case since January 14th as the rally in the US dollar corresponds with the rise in gold prices, which closed today at a 7 month high of $970 an ounce.

The last time we saw this traditionally negative correlation turn into a positive one was in 1982. At that time, recession hit many countries including the US. Although the rise in gold prices can be partially attributed to future inflation problems, the cohesive movement in the value of gold and the US dollar suggests that central banks around the world are losing credibility. There are growing concerns that a time bomb could explode in Europe leading to more troubles for the region as a whole. If that is the case, there may not be any safer form of investment than gold.

The rally in the US dollar and gold is telling the market that investors are worried about global economic stability outside of the US and therefore they are preparing for the worst.

This post can also be viewed on kathylien.com.