Mind the gap: Psychological barriers in gold and silver prices

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. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.