The upward trajectory in bullion prices continued at the opening of the new trading week. After climbing by more than 5% in the previous week, the price of gold touched nearly 4,700 dollars per troy ounce overnight, marking its highest level in over three months.
Strong Inflows Into Gold ETFs
Data from the World Gold Council shows that gold exchange-traded funds recorded their strongest weekly inflows in a span of 10 months, reaching a total of 46.7 tons. Out of this volume, 30.4 tons came from North America, while 13.8 tons were contributed by Europe. Given the prevailing global news landscape, strong indications suggest that ETF purchases will persist and that gold prices are poised for further gains.
Currency Markets And Middle East Developments
The GBP/USD pair extended its consolidation into a second consecutive session on Tuesday, fluctuating within a narrow band above the 1.3600 threshold. The US Dollar stabilized as market participants evaluated the impact of US sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile, diplomatic channels saw renewed activity amid reports that Pakistan was carrying a proposal to Iran aimed at halting the siege and lifting sanctions under the framework of a memorandum of understanding. In contrast, the EUR/USD pair struggled to build recovery momentum, trading below 1.1700 during the latter half of Tuesday as the US Dollar found safe-haven appeal from cautious sentiment regarding Middle East developments.
Profit Taking In Gold And Continued Bitcoin Rally
Gold pulled back slightly on Tuesday after registering a fresh three-month peak of 4,697 dollars earlier in the Asian session. Traders appeared to engage in profit-taking following the recent aggressive rally, which pushed the Relative Strength Index into overbought territory. Concurrently, cryptocurrency leader Bitcoin extended its gains, trading above 80,000 dollars on Tuesday following its strongest weekly advance in more than three years, driven by sustained institutional demand and positive inflows into spot exchange-traded funds.
Asia Market Trends And US Treasury Operations
Asian markets experienced a second straight session of directionless trading, with uncertainty lingering around Iran and the Federal Reserve outlook following recent comments and ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium. Oman's Foreign Minister scheduled a visit to Tehran, while regional diplomatic updates continued. In a notable policy shift, the US Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it would at least double the size of its liquidity support buyback operations across the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors. The maximum limit per operation was raised from 2 billion dollars to at least 4 billion dollars, taking effect from September 9 and running through November 4.
