Monday, April 20 Open: $1,636.81
Low: $1,623.54
High: $1,667.30
Friday, April 27 Close: $1,664
Weekly Change: + 1.3%

This week saw gold prices begin with 2-week low and then end with a 2-month high. Monday held the week’s low in the afternoon, as the U.S. dollar stayed firm and crude oil weakened, then the exact opposite happened on Thursday, as the dollar started dropping and crude oil steadied, contributing to the rise in gold market values.

Tuesday, April 24th saw a slight spike in gold prices as India celebrated its largest gold-buying festival, Akshaya Tritivai. Though gold is traditionally bought in physical jewelry form, some of the younger, urban Indians are Internet savvy and prefer to buy gold in the form of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

“Gold has become an asset class which is a must-have in many people’s portfolio,” said Gnananskhar Thiagarajan, the director at Commtrendz Research. Continue reading →

Monday April 16th Open: $1,651.30
Weekly Low: $1,635.10
Weekly High: $1,654.40
Friday April 20 Close: $1642.30

Gold prices have been on the downturn this week, lingering under $1,650 on Monday, dropping to $1,642. Gold prices have been following a slight but steady decline since late February, yet the price of gold stabilized on Thursday’s closing after several U.S. economic reports revealed that the American economy has not performed as well as expected in the past week. The gold market is unique because while most commodities markets may look forward to a booming economy, gold’s currency market actually hinges on its place as a hedge against economic downturn. Thus, when the economy seems to be on an upturn, gold prices fall. Continue reading →