What will a dollar slump mean for gold?

The pressure on the US dollar is increasing, despite rising interest rates - and that's good news for gold, says veteran gold commentator Paul van Eeden. He believes the dollar has a lot further to fall - and gold has a lot further to climb...

As anticipated the US Federal Reserve raised the overnight interest rate on Thursday by one quarter of a percent to 5.25%. Instead of rallying on the news the dollar plummeted. In the accompanying statements the Fed seemed to indicate that its stance towards further interest rate increases has softened and it would consider both inflation and economic growth going forward. Since there are clear signs the economy might be slowing down this could mean the end of the Fed's rate hikes - hence the dollar fall.

The gold price rose in direct response to the weaker dollar and a casual observation of the gold market might lead one to the conclusion that the worst is behind us. Nonetheless, I remain cautious because base metals prices are still grossly overvalued in my opinion and if base metals prices fall they could drag the gold price down temporarily. That's because many of the institutions that bought into the commodity super-cycle idea also bought gold, and if they sell, they will sell across the board.

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