Gold prices closed at 1,787.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, continuing a three-week trend that has the price of gold down.
The drop off comes nearly four months after gold prices crossed the $2,000 threshold for the first time in history, closing at $2019.40 per ounce Aug. 4.
Anna Golubova of Kitco News reported Friday that some analysts are questioning their earlier predictions that gold would be back at $2,000 per once by the end of the year.
“Thin holiday trading and stop losses have contributed to gold’s move below $1,800 an ounce on Friday,” she said. “And even though analysts remain certain that the macro environment is still very supportive of higher gold, some are starting to postpone expectations of new record high prices until next year.”
Adam Perlaky of the World Gold Council said there are multiple reasons why the price of gold is slipping. These include three confirmed coronavirus vaccines, and Joe Biden announcing some of his cabinet positions, including Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary.
“As Chairperson of the US Federal Reserve, her accommodative policies were positive for risky markets over a large portion of the past decade,” he reported.
Despite the latest drop, gold remains 17% higher than it was at the start of the year.
