NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Gold could be in for a number of dull weeks since much of the focus has been on whether the Federal Open Market Committee undertakes more quantitative easing, but the market majority is not expecting this at the July 31-Aug. 1 meeting, said Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in research note.

Instead, the market is now more focused on the Fed’s Aug. 31 Jackson Hole symposium and the Sept. 13 FOMC meeting as traders contemplate just when the Fed might become more aggressive on policy, the Swiss bank added.

According to the Zurich based bank, given that the rise and fall of QE expectations has been the overwhelming decider of gold’s direction in recent months, the risk is that the market is facing a number of dull weeks ahead.

“With few expectations for Fed action in this period, instead the focus will be even more on how macro data indicators hold up, particularly unemployment. Poor payroll numbers without doubt would fuel QE expectations for September and vice versa,” the bank noted.

They continued that, for now, many investors are not willing to buy gold on the back of potential QE. The QE timeframe is too far in the future for many investors who have been operating with an extremely short-term approach to gold in recent weeks and months.

Potential for near-term catalysts from Europe are also low, with much of the continent on holiday in August and a German constitutional ruling on participation in bailout programs delayed until Sept. 12, UBS concluded.

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