Unusual gold moves in Asian hours puzzle jittery traders
By GCRU Gold News on Thursday, November 20 2014, 22:40 - Permalink
Some of the biggest price moves in gold since late October have, unusually, occurred in Asian hours and traders more accustomed to following the lead of their Western counterparts suspect a big increase in algorithmic trading may be to blame.
The price lurches that took the market lower often happened when traders in top gold consumer China, which usually provides support for the metal, were out for lunch.
"Someone is utilising these thin trading volumes to get a turbo steroid move," said a precious metals trader in Hong Kong.
Traders in Tokyo have also noticed that the falls tend to happen a few minutes before their markets are set to close.