· Gold has hit a four-month high heading to a fifth straight weekly gain as the US dollar fell against the euro on an agreement for a political coalition in Germany.
· Palladium hit a record high in a continued rally fuelled by tight supplies and ncreased demand in the automotive industry for autocatalysts in gasoline-burning vehicles.
· Spot gold was up 1.2 per cent at $US1,338.39 an ounce by 2.19 pm Friday EST (0619 Saturday AEDT).The session high of $US1,339.31 was its highest since September. Bullion is up 1.4 per cent this week and set for its longest run of weekly gains since April. US gold futures for February delivery settled up $US12.40, or 0.9 per cent, at $US1,334.90 per ounce.
· Palladium rose 3.4 per cent to $US1,120.24 per ounce and was up 2.8 per cent for the week. During the session it hit a record high of $US1,126.30.
· Gold prices extended their rally after US President Donald Trump said he would waive nuclear sanctions against Iran for the last time to give Washington and its European allies a chance to fix the "terrible flaws" of the 2015 nuclear deal.
· "This is a last chance," Trump said in a statement, which fed investor worries and boosted safe-haven demand for gold. "Certainly, Trump making that announcement helped, and it's been a risk-on move today," said Dan Hussey, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago.
· The euro jumped to a three-year high after party sources said German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) had agreed a blueprint for formal coalition negotiations. "The agreement is one of the first movements in a long time that people say is EU-positive. Hence the strength in the euro and gold, as well," Hussey added.
· Platinum rose 1.1 per cent at $US994.90 an ounce after touching its highest since September 11 at $US998.50, on track for a fifth straight weekly gain. Platinum is up 2.6 per cent so far this week.
· Spot silver rose 1.4 per cent at $US17.20 an ounce but was still heading for its first weekly loss in five weeks, down 0.1 per cent for the week.
Reference: Business News
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