Gold's Santa Rally Is Recurring Year-End Gift for Chart Watchers
- Pre-Christmas buying was profitable in nine of past 10 years
- Bullion-loving Chinese tend to stock up before Lunar New Year
Will Gold Bounce Back in 2016?
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Whether they’ve been naughty or nice, gold investors can usually count on a year-end Santa rally.
In nine of the past 10 years, bullion prices advanced from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3, with gains averaging 2.9 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Even in 2013 and 2014, when gold was capping two of its worst years in more than a decade, the value of the precious metal increased during those holiday weeks. Traders like Brad Yates at Elemetal Capital LLC attribute the gains partly to the tendency of consumers in China -- the world’s top buyer -- to stock up before the Lunar New Year holiday.