from Kitco NEWS
lass=”” >The 800,000-pound Godzilla in the room at the moment is the fear of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, says long-time technical analyst Gary Wagner. ‘As of Friday, interest-rate futures were pricing in a 30% probability of an increase at the June 14-15 meeting, up from 5% several days earlier, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool,’ explains Wagner, the editor of the popular newsletter, thegoldforecast.com. Traders are desperately seeking some clarity in regards to the Fed’s next move, trying to determine gold’s direction, he told Kitco News. ‘[T]he lack of fiscal policy by the U.S. Congress forces investors to rely far too heavily on monetary policy as a barometer. That is very wrong,’ Wagner warns. On Tuesday, gold futures hit a 4-week low as the dollar index hit a seven-week high. June Comex gold futures settled at $1,229 an ounce, down $22.30 on the day. July Comex silver settled at $16.254, down $0.169 an ounce.