Gold proves resilient despite upcoming US rate hike

The prices of precious metals (PMs) have fallen since mid-August as sentiment towards commodities in general continued to worsen, although performance was mixed. A further slump in Chinese equities and unexpectedly weak Chinese PMI numbers added to demand concerns for palladium, and to some extent platinum. However, the gold price proved quite resilient despite expectations that the Fed will hike rates for the first time in September. Investor sentiment, albeit still quite negative, is showing signs of improvement from last month, underpinning our view that the worst should be behind us.