Mind the gap: Psychological barriers in gold and silver prices

Michael E. Lucey; Fergal A. O'Connor

doi:10.1016/j.frl.2016.03.009

Mind the gap: Psychological barriers in gold and silver prices

Michael E. Lucey
, Fergal A. O'Connor

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This study tests whether psychological barriers exist around key reference points in gold and silver prices, namely numbers ending in 0 (e.g. $450) and 00 (e.g. $200). Initial observations and tests show gold prices fix less frequently on values ending in 0 and 00, suggesting barriers at these levels which manifest as gaps in the frequency distributions. Statistical tests find support for barriers at numbers ending in 0 and 00 for gold. While initial observations and tests suggest silver prices are not uniformly distributed, there is no statistically significant evidence to support that barriers exist at either 0 or 00.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	135-140
Number of pages	6
Journal	Finance Research Letters
Volume	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2016.03.009
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2016
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Behavioral
Gold
Psychological barriers
Silver

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10.1016/j.frl.2016.03.009

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title = "Mind the gap: Psychological barriers in gold and silver prices",

abstract = "This study tests whether psychological barriers exist around key reference points in gold and silver prices, namely numbers ending in 0 (e.g. \$450) and 00 (e.g. \$200). Initial observations and tests show gold prices fix less frequently on values ending in 0 and 00, suggesting barriers at these levels which manifest as gaps in the frequency distributions. Statistical tests find support for barriers at numbers ending in 0 and 00 for gold. While initial observations and tests suggest silver prices are not uniformly distributed, there is no statistically significant evidence to support that barriers exist at either 0 or 00.",

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AB - This study tests whether psychological barriers exist around key reference points in gold and silver prices, namely numbers ending in 0 (e.g. $450) and 00 (e.g. $200). Initial observations and tests show gold prices fix less frequently on values ending in 0 and 00, suggesting barriers at these levels which manifest as gaps in the frequency distributions. Statistical tests find support for barriers at numbers ending in 0 and 00 for gold. While initial observations and tests suggest silver prices are not uniformly distributed, there is no statistically significant evidence to support that barriers exist at either 0 or 00.

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KW - Psychological barriers

KW - Silver

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84961794990

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JO - Finance Research Letters

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ER -

Mind the gap: Psychological barriers in gold and silver prices

Abstract

Keywords

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