Long liquidation, not a short build: central banks' record 289t Q2 bid still anchors gold

Gold slid to about $4,158 spot on Tuesday, down 1.71% on the day, with the December future at $4,170.50, as a firmer dollar around 101.3 and a market repricing Fed-hike odds finally outweighed the safe-haven bid. Before you read that as the start of a bear market in the metal, spend a minute on the Commitments of Traders report, because the tape is telling a different story than the price is. The managed money crowd sold gold last week, but it sold to lighten up, not to build a short. That distinction, more than any single level, is what determines whether this pullback has legs toward the $4,050 to $4,100 zone or dies into a structural bid that central banks still fund at a record pace.

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