There is no doubt that the aversion to risk by many traders is there for all to see, especially when looking at the falling price of physical commodities such as gold.
As the trading week begins today on this wintery 6th of December, a quick glance at recent performance would show that gold had been down 1.21 points as it closed 0.07% down at the end of the trading day on Friday last week.
That in itself may not seem like too much of a drop in value, but considering the steady climb that gold prices have taken during the last two years, a sudden downturn is worthy of note.
This morning, however, it began to rise against the US dollar as the European markets open, with a general consideration among traders that the rise in price from last week's fall is down to risk aversion which has pulled down real interest rates.
With real interest rates now in negative figures, gold is being viewed once again as a de facto store of value by investors taking a longer term view on the markets and who do not want to go in for the wild rides that the crypto market has been experiencing lately.
Whilst the crypto market has certainly gained huge appeal among those who see it as a double-edged virtue; that being the circumvention of the centralized markets which have been subject to all manner of geopolitical circumstances recently as well as the chance to finally get into a genuinely volatile market and realize quick returns, there are still a huge number of investors worldwide who are looking to minimize their risks during times of uncertainty, and uncertain times throughout history have resulted in gold price rises.
Another area of interest which is perhaps causing a move toward confidence in the value of gold is the potential reaction to the sensationalist news reports about Omicron, the latest nomenclature to hit the news after several previous attempts to stir up fear among the corporate world and the investing community.
Although a week has passed since the Omicron name made its way to the public via the international press and various soundbites from global governments, there is still a degree of uncertainty as to how this will be utilized by the policymakers and therefore physical commodities are becoming favourable once again.
Gold was down against the US dollar by 2.6 points at close of business on Friday, but begins the trading session this morning with an increase of 0.26% which can be attributed toward this sentiment considering that there are no important market announcements scheduled this week which could otherwise affect the price differences between spot FX and commodities other than the US CPI figures for November which are due to be announced on Friday.
December is a relatively quiet month for market-related news announcements, therefore it is likely that all eyes will be on the geopolitical effect created by any reactions by governments with regard to Omicron, and whether this will drive investors toward stores of value such as gold and cryptocurrency.
As this week gets off to a start, there certainly is some evidence toward that.
