SPDR Gold Shares Drop Amid Fed Rate Decision

BY Benzinga | ECONOMIC | 01:36 PM EDT

SPDR Gold shares are plummeting Thursday as gold's historic selloff deepens as the Federal Reserve held rates steady even as crude prices surge and reignite inflation fears.

  • SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) stock is among today’s weakest performers. What’s pressuring GLD stock?

With rate?cut hopes gone, gold is losing one of its strongest tailwinds.

Gold Extends Its Steepest Monthly Drop Since 2008

Gold has plunged 13% so far this month, falling to around $4,580 per ounce Thursday morning. That marks its steepest monthly drop since October 2008, when the financial crisis was in full swing.

The decline accelerated after the Fed kept the 3.5%?3.75% rate unchanged and signaled no relief from high rates, while the Iran conflict continues to push oil higher and stoke inflation concerns.

The combination of a stronger dollar, rising energy prices and erased expectations for monetary easing has created a hostile backdrop for gold.

Gold's Collapse VS Oil

The gold?to?Brent ratio has crashed 43% this month to roughly 40 barrels per ounce, marking gold's worst monthly performance against crude since December 1973, when the Arab oil embargo reshaped global markets.

The Iran war and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered a modern?day echo of that shock. With oil surging and gold sinking, the traditional relationship between the two commodities has broken down in a way not seen in decades.

Why Gold Is Falling During A War?

Normally, geopolitical turmoil boosts gold. This time, the opposite is happening due to interest rates.

Gold is highly sensitive to rate expectations. The spike in oil prices is increasing inflation fears, which then pushes investors to assume the Fed will keep policy tight for longer.

SPDR Gold Technical Analysis

GLD is trading 10.7% below its 20-day SMA and 0.1% below its 100-day SMA, putting it back on a key "line in the sand" where buyers often try to defend the intermediate trend. Shares are up 49.62% over the past 12 months and are currently positioned closer to their 52-week highs than lows.

The RSI is at 40.31, which is considered neutral territory but tilted toward weaker momentum after the recent downswing. Meanwhile, MACD is at 0.4847, below its signal line at 4.6367, reinforcing bearish pressure in the near term.

The combination of RSI in the 30?50 range and bearish MACD suggests mixed momentum.

  • Key Resistance: $468.50
  • Key Support: $395.50

GLD Price Action: SPDR Gold shares (GLD) were down 4.90% at $422.94 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Image: Shutterstock

In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.

Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.

Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

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