Experts predict positive short-term gold prices

“I am bullish on gold this week,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

“The current rally seems to be relentless despite the absence of any notable events. The most important thing for gold is that this rally is driven by a general appreciation of all currencies, not just the USD. Last week, a spike was triggered by the European Central Bank (ECB) rate cut.”

Marc Chandler, CEO at Bannockburn Global Forex, said that gold prices are generally still on the rise.

“Gold has hit an all-time high. Tensions in the Middle East remain high and the upcoming BRICS summit highlights central bank demand for the precious metal.

The US election is becoming clearer. Although it is still a fierce competition, a victory for Donald Trump could support gold prices,” said Marc Chandler.

Adam Button, chief currency strategist at Forexlive.com; James Stanley, senior market strategist at Forex.com; and Mark Leibovit, publisher of VR Metals/Resource Letter, agree that gold prices will move higher this week.

“There is little reason to doubt the current trend, especially after the bulls have consistently performed impressively, even as the USD has rallied,” said James Stanley.

"Continuing the uptrend, especially with the BRICS meeting this week," said Mark Leibovit.

Meanwhile, Sean Lusk, co-director of commercial hedging at Walsh Trading, said he was watching the market and wondering what could stop gold’s rally at this point. The energy crash, the strong dollar and the stock market performance last week were “insignificant” to gold’s breakout, he said.

Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, sees a positive environment for the precious metal. “While it is difficult to pinpoint a single driver behind the precious metal’s 2% gain over the past week, it is clear that there are several factors at play.

Geopolitical instability, sluggish economic growth in key regions, a shift in central bank policy towards lower interest rates and most recently the uncertainty surrounding the US presidential election have all contributed to gold breaking its peak,” he said.

Gold's performance is consistent with the generally supportive environment that has formed in recent months, said Kevin Grady, president of Phoenix Futures and Options.

“I think interest rates are going to come down and gold is ready for higher numbers. People are buying on dips, which is bullish for gold. People only like to trade when interest rates come down. I think prices will go higher and test $3,000 an ounce in the first quarter or so.”

Grady also expects next week’s BRICS summit to act as a near-term gold price driver, as its announcement is likely to hurt the US dollar, thereby boosting the precious metal.

The key to understanding whether gold's price move is sustainable, even at these unprecedented levels, is knowing who is driving the price action, Grady said.

“There are obviously speculators in the market. But I think the fundamental buyers are the central banks, and that's not going to change.”

Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro, is reviewing the week's performance amid a sharp rise in gold prices. The expert notes that the market is currently experiencing a "very unusual combination" of simultaneous rallies in the US dollar and gold.

“They typically move in opposite directions and only move together during periods of increased demand for defensive assets, for example due to geopolitics,” he said.

Kitco senior analyst Jim Wyckoff expects gold prices to rise further this week. “Gold prices will move higher amid geopolitical tensions and bullish technical factors,” he said.