March developments make gold tricky for rest of year
NEW YORK - Janet Yellen's soothing words on the pace of US interest rate hikes were a day late for hedge funds losing faith in the metal.
Money managers cut their bullish bets on bullion by the most since 2015 in the week ended March 14. The next day, Federal Reserve Chair Yellen reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for "some time," easing market fears that there might be more than three rate hikes this year. Her words sparked the biggest gold rally since November.
Gold, which climbed through the first two months of the year, had foundered in March as the prospect of higher borrowing costs curbed the appeal of non-interest-bearing assets. Yellen's remarks came as the Bank of Japan maintains its unprecedented monetary easing program and the Bank of England holds its benchmark rate at a record low, helping to keep yields on trillions of dollars worth of debt below zero.
