Gold slips over 1% as equities gain, investors assess banking risks

Gold prices slipped on Monday as a rebound in equities dented the metal’s safe-haven appeal, while investors evaluated steps taken by authorities to calm fears of a crisis in the global banking system.

Spot gold was down 1.4% at $1,950.05 per ounce as of 1107 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 1.6% to $1,951.20.

A buyer for Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits and loans helped shares in European lenders mount a partial recovery, sending gold further below the $2,000 mark breached last week.

”After kissing the psychological $2,000 level last week, bears exploited this resistance to attack. Appetite for the precious metal has also been dampened by a stabilising dollar and mixed signals on monetary policy from the Fed,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

Recent stress in the banking sector and the possibility of a follow-on credit crunch bring the U.S. closer to recession, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari said on Sunday. However, U.S. Federal Reserve officials said there was no indication that financial stress was worsening.

”Gold is set to shine through the market chaos with expectations around the Fed cutting rates in 2023, fuelling upside gains,” Otunuga said, adding that a potent fundamental spark is needed to conquer the $2,000 psychological level and the March 2022 peak to hit a record high.

Last week, the Fed indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases in borrowing costs, boosting non-yielding gold’s appeal.

The dollar index held steady on Monday and was off last week’s more than one-month low. A stronger greenback tends to make bullion a less attractive bet.

The minor decline (in gold prices) on Monday can be attributed to the recovery seen in stocks, but the overall trend for gold remains positive, Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at Kinesis Money said.

Spot silver fell 1.4% to $22.90 per ounce, platinum lost 1.6% to $961.46 and palladium dipped 0.7% to $1,405.77.