NEW YORK (Kitco News) - The gold market jumped above $1,900 an ounce as U.S. markets reacted to the growing banking turmoil after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
The precious metal attracted investors as the equity market tumbled, the U.S. dollar index dropped, and the U.S. Treasury yields fell. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield posted the biggest one-day drop since 1987 and was last at 4.12%
U.S. President Joe Biden made an urgent appearance to reassure the markets that the U.S. banking system is “safe” and seeking stronger bank regulations.
“Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe. Your deposits will be there when you need them,” Biden said Monday. “I’m going to ask Congress and the banking regulators to strengthen the rules for banks to make it less likely this kind of bank failure will happen again, and to protect American jobs as a small business.”
Fears of a full-blown banking crisis and re-pricing of future Federal Reserve rate hikes have driven gold above its critical psychological level of $1,900. Since Friday, the gold market has gained more than $70. April Comex gold futures were last at $1,909.20, up 2.26% on the day.
After California banking regulators had to swoop in quickly and close SVB Financial Group Friday in what was the largest bank failure since the financial crisis, Signature Bank became the next casualty. On Sunday, state regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank.
Markets interpret these bank failures as unintended consequences of the aggressive tightening cycle pursued by the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation. And now some analysts are even starting to price in a halt in the rate hikes.