· Gold steadied on Friday, paring earlier gains as equity markets rose and the dollar strengthened after Washington said it was close to finalizing parts of a trade pact with Beijing, but bullion was still on track for a weekly gain.
· Deficit-hit palladium notched an all-time high, meanwhile, driven by short supplies of the auto-catalyst metal.
· Spot gold was flat at $1,503.11 per ounce, having earlier hit its highest since Oct. 3 at $1,517.70 gaining nearly 1%. The precious metal was up about 1% so far this week. U.S. gold futures settled mostly unchanged at $1,505.30.
· “Positive comments on a Phase 1 trade deal from two of Donald Trump’s hawkish trade triumvirate triggered profit-taking after gold failed to breach $1,520, which has been the top of the recent range,” said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.
“This combination saw earlier momentum-based traders who bought above $1,505 per ounce liquidate.”
· The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Friday deputy-level talks would carry on, but provided no details on the areas of progress. President Donald Trump said the United States was doing “very well” in the negotiations.
· CNBC earlier reported that top negotiators from the two countries “made headway on specific issues” related to trade on a phone call.
· A sense of positive developments on the trade front lifted U.S. stocks higher, with the S&P 500 rising above its record closing high.
Also weighing on gold, the dollar index gained 0.3% and U.S. Treasury yields edged slightly higher.
However, offering limited support to bullion was the continuing uncertainty surrounding Brexit. The European Union agreed to London’s request for a Brexit deadline extension on Friday but set no new departure date, giving Britain’s divided parliament time to decide on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for a snap election.
Meanwhile, recent weak economic readings out of the United States lifted expectations for another U.S. rate cut next week.
· Gold tends to appreciate on expectations of lower interest rates, which reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
· Elsewhere, palladium eased 0.4% to $1,769.59 an ounce, having earlier hit an all-time high of $1,785.50.
· Palladium is in a strong uptrend supported by the fundamental story, Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen said. “If we do break $1,785, we could see some additional buyers into that break, taking palladium to the 1,800 level.”
· Silver jumped 1% to $17.94 per ounce after hitting its highest since Sept. 25 at $18.33. It was up 2.5% for the week.
· Platinum gained 0.6% to $929.42, on track for its best week in eight.
Reference: CNBC
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