goldcore.com / by Mark O’Byrne / August 15, 2012
Gold is under pressure today despite the likelihood of more QE from the FED, ECB and other central banks and despite the very uncertain and poor macroeconomic outlook.
Positive US data, retail sales grew for the first time in 4 months, may have led to gold weakness and scaled back hopes that the US Fed will take action soon.
On Tuesday, Gold ETF interest increased to its highest level in nearly a month at 2,190.583 tonnes showing how investment demand in the gold ETF is far more ‘sticky’ and long term in nature.
This means that there is a fundamental pillar of support below the gold market which did not exist in the 1970’s.
An important positive development for the gold market is billionaire financiers George Soros and John Paulson have again increased their allocations to gold as seen in the latest SEC filings.
George Soros more than doubled his shares in the SPDR gold trust ETF.
He increased his position in SPDR Gold to $137.3 million in the second quarter from $52 million previously. SEC filing for the second quarter showed Soros Fund Management more than doubled its investment in the SPDR Gold Trust from 319,550 shares to 884,400 shares at the end of June.
In September 2010 (see chart), Soros called gold “the ultimate bubble” and largely dumped his stake in the ETF before gold recorded annual gains in 2010 and 2011 and rose to a nominal high of $1,920.30 per ounce in September.
There was speculation at the time that he may have sold the SPDR trust in order to own far safer allocated gold bars.