Gold is one of the most widely traded commodities in the world because of its value as a universal currency and store of wealth. The precious stone can also be termed as the ultimate safe-haven asset - all thanks to its unique position in the world economy and political system.
Gold trading can be a very profitable endeavor, but only if you know what you're doing. While gold's price can rise and fall, some gold investors have learned the unique characteristics of world gold markets that help to continue driving the price upward. Read on to learn more about gold trading and things you must know about a good gold trading system.
What Exactly is Gold Trading?
Investors consider gold as real money - its value fluctuates from moment to moment, which is determined by its demand and supply in the market. While people don't eat or drink gold, they are attracted to its other properties. These include its ability to maintain wealth through time and across borders, barter use in times of crisis, being a highly liquid investment, and of course, jewelry.
The reason people buy and sell gold creates demand and supply flow. However, the reasons may be speculative - it might be for making jewelry or for multiple commercial purposes.
As for gold traders, the simple purpose of buying and selling gold is to make profits from its daily price fluctuation. In recent years, gold trading has evolved to the point where traders no longer need to hold physical gold in their possession. With the evolution, the transactions are executed electronically; your profits and losses are directly reflected in your trading account.
How Do Professionals Trade Gold?
Being a safe-haven asset, many investors are trying gold trading and start investing randomly. Trading gold is a tough task, but one can always trade like a complete professional.
An expert gold trader evaluates three major factors to help them understand the gold market and thus make trading decisions. First, analyzing the technicals, which include gold's main attributes such as its price movements, trend, and momentum.
Then comes the fundamental backdrop, which is another important factor in gold trading. Fundamental factors include the level of inflation and interest rates, which can affect the gold market's value.
Lastly, sentiment refers to how investors feel about a particular commodity: If they feel optimistic about it, they will buy stocks. If they feel pessimistic about it, they will sell their stocks.
3 Things To Know About A Good Gold trading System
Gold trading is a lucrative investment scheme where one can invest in gold bars, gold coins, and other types of gold bullion as well. The fundamentals of buying and selling gold are very simple to understand. However, many people never get started with it due to a lack of knowledge about basic principles.
The best system to invest in gold trading, like any other commodity, is to follow the smart money trade rules. It is based on what actually is working in the current market and what the future holds for the particular commodity.
The strategy tells you when to get into trading in any virtual time frame. Below are three basic things that you need to know about a good gold trading system.
The Fundamental Analysis for Gold Trading
Whether you are a beginner or have been gold trading for quite some time now, having knowledge about the gold fundamentals is essential. The direction of US treasury yields and the rise and fall of US dollar rates are the most important indicators of gold trading fundamentals.
To understand the direction of US treasury yields, one has to understand that gold does not pay up any dividend or interest for holding it. However, higher treasury yields, or simply higher interest rates, increases the cost of holding the gold.
Therefore, when the interest rates get higher, gold is considered a less attractive investment. On the contrary, when the interest rate falls as it did in 2020-2021, they become a more desired asset.
Similar is the case with the US dollar rates. Gold is priced in the US dollar, so when the dollar increases, gold is much more expensive for foreign buyers.
(tonnes) |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
Supply |
||||||||||
Mine Production |
2651 |
2771 |
2868 |
2882 |
3076 |
3180 |
3222 |
3252 |
3259 |
3332 |
Scrap |
1765 |
1743 |
1698 |
1700 |
1303 |
1159 |
1180 |
1306 |
1210 |
1178 |
Net Hedging Supply |
-234 |
-106 |
18 |
-40 |
-39 |
108 |
21 |
32 |
-41 |
8 |
Total Supply |
4182 |
4407 |
4584 |
4543 |
4340 |
4446 |
4422 |
4590 |
4428 |
4518 |
Demand |
||||||||||
Jewellerry |
1879 |
2096 |
2109 |
2075 |
2737 |
2569 |
2474 |
1962 |
2222 |
2129 |
Industrial usage |
426 |
480 |
470 |
432 |
28 |
411 |
376 |
366 |
380 |
391 |
Net Official Sector |
-34 |
77 |
457 |
544 |
409 |
466 |
443 |
253 |
366 |
536 |
Retail Investment |
866 |
1263 |
1617 |
1407 |
1871 |
1165 |
1172 |
1051 |
1031 |
1097 |
Physical Demand |
3138 |
3915 |
4652 |
4458 |
5445 |
4611 |
4464 |
3631 |
3999 |
4154 |
Physical Surplus/Demand |
1044 |
492 |
-69 |
85 |
-1105 |
-164 |
-42 |
959 |
429 |
365 |
ETP Inventory Build |
623 |
384 |
189 |
279 |
-879 |
-155 |
-117 |
539 |
177 |
59 |
Exchange Inventory Build |
39 |
54 |
-6 |
-10 |
-98 |
1 |
-48 |
86 |
0 |
-21 |
Net Balance |
382 |
54 |
-251 |
-185 |
-129 |
-10 |
124 |
334 |
252 |
327 |
Gold Price, $ per oz. |
972.35 |
1224.52 |
1571.69 |
1668.98 |
1411.23 |
1266.40 |
1160.06 |
1250.80 |
1257.15 |
1268.49 |
Technical Analysis for Strategies
Gold trading technical analysis is a study of past price action in gold. It involves analyzing trends, indicators, and other technical analysis tools to give you an idea about what will happen with the price or if it is going to change its trend.
Technical analysis isn't as complicated as it seems. Using previous highs and lows, trendlines, and chart patterns is a great way to start. When the gold price is rising, a significant previous high above the current level could be your next big target. Or when the price is falling, an important previous low could help guide you in your decision to buy or sell.
What most professional gold traders do is analyze the long-term trend in gold prices by evaluating a weekly chart using different tools. This allows traders to determine if the price is likely to trend or stay range-bound.
Monitor Central Bank Buying
Gold is typically considered a safe investment, not just by investors but even by the central banks and government. In times of financial uncertainty, governments will often invest in gold to protect their assets.
This means that when central banks start buying gold in large amounts, it can indicate two things. First, the central bank believes that major foreign currencies are about to experience a downfall. This dipping could encourage traders to move a greater percentage of their investments into less volatile funds and earn profit.
Secondly, when the central banks decide to increase their reserves, they usually purchase gold. When this happens, the demand for gold rises, and the price increases. The rising trend of gold prices can earn traders a decent amount of profit in the very short term.
Conclusion
Gold trading is an art that requires a bit of knowledge and experience. It can be a highly profitable endeavor if you do it correctly. And a good gold trading system takes the mystery out of the market and helps you to understand how it works.