Gold is confined to a narrow range and the halt in interest hikes reinforces expectations
Gold prices moved in a narrow range today, Friday, following a volatile week, as the rise in the dollar offset the support the yellow metal received from lower US bond yields, but bets on a temporary halt to raising US interest rates boosted expectations regarding non-yielding bullion.
There was little change in gold in spot transactions, to record $ 1996.19 an ounce (an ounce), by 12:02 GMT, moving in a range of approximately $ 20. US gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,997.50.
Prices have risen in the past two sessions following the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point as expected, but signaled that it was regarding to pause the increases.
Low interest rates increase the attractiveness of gold, as it represents the opportunity cost for investors of the precious metal.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, said the dollar’s rise is offsetting the support gold is receiving from lower bond yields, but “economic concerns will lead to lower interest rate expectations, which might further boost gold prices.”
US Treasury yields fell for ten years for the third consecutive session, while the dollar index rose 0.7%.
The recent banking turmoil led to concerns regarding the stability of the financial sector, and raised fears of broader systemic banking crises, and this provided support for gold in two ways, as US Treasury yields fell sharply, and there were safe-haven purchases in ETFs and gold in North America. and Europe.
With regard to other precious metals, silver rose 0.4% to $ 23.22 an ounce, and is heading towards achieving gains for the second week in a row.
Platinum fell 1.9% to $965.94, and palladium fell 1.8% to $1,404.45.
(Archyde.com, The New Arab)