Page 59 - UNION PROPERTIES GENERAL REPORT - April 2024_Neat

Has gold lost its steam?
Last week, gold had climbed over $2,400 an ounce, part of a surge that saw the safe haven
clear $2,200 and $2,300 recently in double quick time. But after the weekend’s round of
Middle East crisis, gold seems to be in retreat for the moment. The price is stuck at around
$2,355-$2,358 levels, with investors likely to have booked some cool profits at $2,380
levels.

Will gold drop further closer to ‘Akshaya Trithiya’?
Even with the fall, gold is still not at shopper-friendly price levels. The next big date in the
retail calendar for old is the Indian festival of ‘Akshaya Trithiya’ in early May, and where gold
buying is part of the activities.

“Gold price movements always take a huge jump on war/conflict threats and then tends to
cool down,” said Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial. “We have
seen both happen in recent days.”

Bitcoin’s up
The main cryptocurrency, meanwhile, is on the mend price-wise, gaining 3.3 per cent to be
in the 66,000 plus levels. As with stocks. expect the various crypto assets to be in for some
extra levels of up-and-down movements.

“Bitcoin slumped over the weekend as rising geopolitical tensions weighed on risk appetite,”
said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote. “Bitcoin halving is expected to happen in
the coming days. Lower supply is fundamentally supportive of an asset’s valuation but we
might not see a clear kneejerk reaction to Bitcoin halving as most of it is already priced in.”

https://bazaartimes.com/market-caution-uae-and-gulf-investors-react-to-latest-middle-east-
crisis-with-gold-and-bitcoin-movement/