• Gold inched higher on Friday to trade below a more than six-month high hit earlier this week, as concerns about slowing global economic growth and a partial government shutdown in the United States stoked safe-haven demand, although gains in equities capped the upside.
Spot gold had risen by 0.2 percent to $1,277.75 per ounce as of 0448 GMT, and was set for a second straight weekly gain with no end in sight for China-U.S. trade tensions and political uncertainty in the United States.
The precious metal had hit its highest level since June 19 at $1,279.06 on Wednesday.
U.S. gold futures inched down 0.1 percent to $1,280.2 per ounce on Friday.
• “People see gold as the only safe haven at this point of time,” said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore, referring to political and economic upheavals such as the Sino-U.S. trade spat and the partial U.S. government shutdown.
• The dollar index, a gauge of its value versus six major peers, edged lower, having lost 0.5 percent overnight, adding to gold’s appeal by making it cheaper for holders of other currencies.
• Financial markets are expecting U.S. growth to slow next year as a result of rising interest rates. A measure of U.S. consumer confidence posted its sharpest decline in more than three years in December, emphasizing the possibility.
• In a blow to worsening trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering an executive order that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE.
Gold is often used by investors as a hedge against political and financial uncertainty.
• Meanwhile, Asian stocks inched higher after Wall Street ended volatile trade in the green in the previous session, limiting gold’s advance.
• Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.1 percent to $15.22 per ounce and was on track for its best week since Aug 2017.
• “It is the end of the year. Investors are looking to rebalance their portfolio, so they allocate a bit (of their funds) to precious metals, even silver,” Lan said.
• Platinum fell 0.3 percent to $793.45, while palladium dipped 0.4 percent to $1,270.24. Palladium has gained about 3 percent this week.
• Gold held steady on Monday as equities gained on likely progress in Sino-U.S. trade standoff, but bullion prices were heading for their first annual decline since 2015, losing to the dollar mostly on trade worries and higher interest rates.
However, the precious metal was on track for its best month since January 2017, having scrambled back from sharp declines in the year due to volatility in equities and a subdued dollar, along with worries over slowing global growth.
Spot gold was steady at $1,281.23 per ounce as of 0815 GMT, near a six-month high of $1,282.09 it hit on Friday.
U.S. gold futures were near flat $1,283.4 per ounce.
• China’s President Xi Jinping said on a telephone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday that he hopes to push forward a Sino-U.S. relationship that is coordinated, cooperative and stable, Chinese state media reported. Gold prices jumped about 5 percent in December. The metal declined nearly 2 percent for the year.
• Gold dropped over 15 percent from a peak of $1,365.2 in April to a 1-1/2-year low in August this year to $1,159.96. The yellow metal has gained nearly 10 percent since then.
• “Over concerns of a slowdown of global economic growth and rate hike, gold is likely to recover the loss since mid-June and rise back to the trading range between $1,300 and $1,350,” Wing Fung said in a research note.
• Among the precious metals, palladium gained 0.1 percent to $1254.30 per ounce and has been the best performer this year, surpassing gold for the first time since 2002 on strong demand from autocatalyst makers amid production shortages.
• The metal rose 18.3 percent in the year and was set for a fifth consecutive month of gains.
• Silver rose 0.4 percent to $15.40 per ounce in the session. However, it declined over 9 percent in the year.
• Spot Platinum gained 0.42 percent to $792.74, but slipped about 14.2 percent in 2018.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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