Speculation about an interest rate hike is making the rounds, but one trader isn't believing the hype — and that has him making a bet on gold.
Todd Gordon of TradingAnalysis.com believes that the Federal Reserve is afraid of market volatility and therefore won't raise rates this month. As a result, Gordon sees gold as the commodity to trade.
Gold prices have an inverse relationship with interest rates. As interest rates rise, non-interest-bearish assets like gold become less attractive in comparison. In addition, a rate hike would send the dollar higher, hurting the value of bullion in dollar terms, as it would take fewer more-valuable dollars to buy the same amount of gold.
Monday on CNBC's "Trading Nation," Gordon looked at a chart of the gold-tracking ETF GLD and pointed out that GLD has been trading in a range all summer, saying that the $124 level is now acting as the ETF's support. From this level, it is set to move higher, in his opinion.
"While we're above the $124 mark here in the GLD, I think it's a buy and we could move out of the range in the gold market," added Gordon.
GLD has surged this year, up more than 24 percent year to date. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee decision set to be released on Sept. 21. Traders currently see a 21 percent chance of the Fed announcing a hike on that date, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
