Gold (and stocks) suffered a slow decline last week.  The S&P 500 stock index fell 3.8%, while gold fell only 0.6% (basis London close).

Gold rose sharply Friday after the dollar fell in response to Thursday’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB).  The euro closed November 30 (last Monday) at $1.0565. Then it shot up to $1.094 (+3.5%) on Thursday, when the ECB lowered interest rates from -0.2% to -0.3% (yes, a negative return on cash). 

Gold rose sharply Friday after the dollar fell in response to Thursday’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB).  The euro closed November 30 (last Monday) at $1.0565. Then it shot up to $1.094 (+3.5%) on Thursday, when the ECB lowered interest rates from -0.2% to -0.3% (yes, a negative return on cash). 

Gold fell to a six-year low of $1052 in the middle of last week before opening this week (November 30) at $1065.  Gold seems headed for its third straight down year after 12 straight rising years from 2001 to 2012. 

Gold fell to a six-year low of $1052 in the middle of last week before opening this week (November 30) at $1065.  Gold seems headed for its third straight down year after 12 straight rising years from 2001 to 2012. 

Gold fell to a multi-year low of $1070 last Wednesday before recovering later in the week.  The decline can be blamed on the release of the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), in which they all but promised a small rate increase of 0.25% in their mid-December meeting. 

Gold fell to a multi-year low of $1070 last Wednesday before recovering later in the week.  The decline can be blamed on the release of the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), in which they all but promised a small rate increase of 0.25% in their mid-December meeting. 

Gold fell to a multi-year low of $1070 last Wednesday before recovering later in the week.  The decline can be blamed on the release of the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), in which they all but promised a small rate increase of 0.25% in their mid-December meeting. 

Gold fell to a multi-year low of $1070 last Wednesday before recovering later in the week.  The decline can be blamed on the release of the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), in which they all but promised a small rate increase of 0.25% in their mid-December meeting. 

Gold continued to consolidate last week, falling to its annual low of $1080 once again.  The main culprit was the renewed strength of the U.S. dollar, combined with the assumption that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by a small amount (0.25%) in December. In the meantime, the World Gold Council announced on Thursday that global gold demand rose 8% in the third quarter.  Global investment demand rose 27%.