Gold
Gold experienced a decent surge in prices last week. Yesterday, we saw the gold prices surging all the way to $1998 an ounce, only a few dollars shy of breaking into the $2,000 an ounce price category.
The fact about gold prices is that there are two prominent factors that are constantly pushing prices. Rising inflation and conflict between Ukraine and Russia are on traders' minds when it comes to the precious metal's rally.
The most intriguing fact about the gold price is that the current surge in the precious metal is taking place when the dollar index is looking immensely healthy in terms of its price action.
Generally speaking, the dollar index is the main denominator for gold prices, and when the dollar index increases in price, we usually see the gold price moving lower and losing its uptrend.
We are in an environment where the Fed has adopted the most hawkish monetary policy in decades. The future stance of their monetary policy only seems to be becoming more hawkish.
But the fact that gold prices are flirting with the $2,000 price level sends a clear signal that gold traders are less worried about the Fed's hawkish stance, and are more interested in pushing gold prices higher.
Oil
Oil price seems to be picking up strength once again today as, at time of writing, both Brent and Crude oil are trading in positive territory.
However, according to the most recent statistics from ICE) Futures Europe, hedge funds sold bullish positions in Brent oil futures for the third week in a row.
In the week ending Apr. 12, money managers sold a net of 3,277 futures contracts, bringing the total to its lowest level since November 2020. The flight comes as oil markets are characterized by significant weekly swings as traders evaluate Russia's war in Ukraine, the release of strategic petroleum reserves, and a virus resurgence in China, all of which might decrease global demand.