Rate hike expectations caused gold sell-off - Barclays Wealth

Investors are selling off gold because of fears interest rates will have to rise higher than expected, Barclays Wealth's Kevin Gardinier has said.

The gold price tumbled sharply in the past four weeks, as investors started a huge sell-off which sent the precious metal down around 15% from its high above $1,913 at the end of August. Selling picked up pace after the US central bank opted against further quantitative easing in favour of a debt swap which will see short-term bonds swapped for longer-dated treasuries, known as Operation Twist. The move dashed hopes of further quantitative easing, causing the dollar to rally and gold to drop, and Gardinier said investors warned investors not too buy back into gold now. He said ther...