Reason for Bearish
Gold prices have continued to hit fresh highs in 2024 due to a wide range of factors — from escalating geopolitical risks and the interest rate outlook to budget deficit concerns, inflation hedging and central bank buying.
Gold’s blistering rally this year was partly fueled by expectations the Federal Reserve (Fed) would cut interest rates as many as three times in 2024, as stubborn inflation started to ease. But current projections suggest only one rate cut is penciled in for the remainder of 2024.
Traditionally, a weaker U.S. dollar and lower U.S. interest rates increase the appeal of non-yielding bullion. But a significant decoupling started to emerge in early 2022 and gold’s relationship with U.S. real yields has broken down even further this year.
“Gold’s resurgence has come earlier than expected, as it further decouples from real yields. We have been structurally bullish gold since the fourth quarter of 2022 and with gold prices surging past $2,400 in April, the rally has come earlier and has been much sharper than expected. It has been especially surprising given that it has coincided with Fed rate cuts being priced out and U.S. real yields moving higher due to stronger labor and inflation data in the U.S,” said Gregory Shearer, Head of Base and Precious Metals Strategy at J.P. Morgan.