Gold hits record-high, dollar falls following Bernanke address
Gold hits record-high, dollar falls following Bernanke address
JEREMY HOBSON: You know there was a big press conference yesterday that had nothing to do with President Obama’s birth certificate. And while it may have been dull to a general audience, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Q&A session is getting strong reaction around the globe. Stocks are up — so is gold. And the dollar is taking a dive.
Marketplace’s Stephen Beard reports from London.
STEPHEN BEARD: If there’s one message that markets have drawn from Bernanke’s remarks, it’s that easy money is here for a while longer. That’s helped share prices hit fresh highs. The Footsie All-World index jumped almost 1 percent. Commodities are also up across the board. Gold has reached a new record of $1532 an once. That, more than anything, reflects a further downward lurch in the U.S. dollar.
Steve Barrow is a currency strategist with Standard Bank.
STEVE BARROW: U.S. interest rates are still very low, relative to much of the rest of the world. Bernanke just confirmed that those low rates are here to stay for a while longer and that’s put more pressure on the dollar.
Barrow says the currency markets now believe the Fed will not begin to push up interest rates until next year.
In London, I’m Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
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