Gold is nearing its strongest buy signal in four months as the U.S. dollar eases off a rally that’s carried the greenback to its highest point since early January. According to the 14-day relative strength index , gold was at its most oversold level since October 2022 at the end of last week, indicating it may be time to consider buying in anticipation of mean reversion.
Last week’s consumer price index report showed that inflation is still running hotter than expected. Consumer prices rose 0.5% between December and January, up from an increase of 0.1% in the November-to-December period. Some of the items and services that jumped the most in price in January were utility gas services, eggs, breakfast sausage and ham, instant coffee and—just in time for tax season—tax return preparation services.
In 2022, gold’s price was mostly supported by strong bullion demand in the U.S. and Western Europe and record purchases by central banks. We may see a repeat of the voracious buying this year, if one forecast turns out to be right.