In light of an incredibly strong U.S. dollar or, more appropriately, a dramatically lower Eurodollar, gold has managed to hold onto gains. As of 4:00 PM Eastern standard time, gold futures are currently trading up $5.20 at $1,306.50, a net gain of 0.40%.

Gold futures finished near the highs of the day, and as of 4:00 PM Eastern standard time is trading up $4.50 at $1,303.90. Gold had been trading fractionally higher at just before the conclusion of this month’s FOMC meeting. However immediately following the meeting, the largely anticipated 25 basis point rate hike fell under pressure and gold briefly traded below $1,300 per ounce.

The G7 meeting, which ended in discord on Friday, had little if any effect on precious metals pricing. Yesterday’s historic summit between the United States and North Korea left market participants in a state of flux but had a tepid impact on gold prices.

With only hours before the United States and North Korea begin their summit in Singapore, gold prices have been holding steady and trading fractionally higher on the day. Of the three major events which are clustered this week, the first was the G7 meeting which was held in Québec over the weekend.

Today marks the first day of a weeklong timeline that will include a series of events that will profoundly impact the financial markets and the geopolitical fabric for years to come.

Gold has been holding steady and trading above $1,300 per ounce (basis the most active August 2018 Comex contract) as it awaits the outcome of three events which most certainly have the potential to shape the future direction of gold pricing, as well as the financial markets as a whole.

The Group of Seven

There are opposing and opposite forces currently at play affecting gold prices.

U.S. equities continue to rage to the upside, with the NASDAQ closing at a new all-time high for the third consecutive day and the Dow back above 25,000. This risk-on market sentiment coupled with recent dollar strength has put significant pressure on the precious metals complex including gold.

Prices have struggled to regain a foothold at or above $1300 per ounce since May 15, when gold dropped over $28 in a single day. Since the selloff, there have been multiple occasions in which gold has effectively traded to or closed just above $1300. However, gold could not sustain that price point for any length of time.

Gold finished under moderate pressure today as U.S. equities moved higher. The NASDAQ composite closed at an all-time new record high today as the tech heavy index continued to react to the favorable jobs report on Friday.

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