3rd October 2017

 It was a rough day for gold on Monday, with prices falling to nearly a seven-week low of around $1273/ounce at one point, as a stronger dollar and soaring US equity markets weighed on valuations. Much of the advance in the US stock market was concentrated in the Dow; the index tacked on a whopping 154 points, but the other two indices saw much more measured gains. We are not sure what was behind the surge, but have to suspect that enthusiasm about the tax reform package remains a key reason. Starting next week, we should also start to see earnings start to stream out; Reuters projects that profits are expected to increase by 6.2% from a year earlier, while excluding energy, the gain is estimated to be around 4.3%. If past performance is any guide, earnings should come in somewhat better than the initial estimates.