Weekly Round-Up: Likely Stimulus Continuation Pushes Commodities Higher

Prices of commodities rose and fell throughout the week, responding to changes in the dollar, US economic data and growing tensions with Syria.

On Friday, gold, silver and copper prices increased following weaker-than-expected US payroll data, making investors think the Federal Reserve could continue its stimulus program, Reuters reported.

“The immediate response of gold and the other precious metals to today’s NFP data has been predictable,” Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said. “They were worse than expected, and this suggests that tapering of America’s quantitative easing program could be further into the future than had previously been expected.”

Gold prices jumped $27.85 to a high of $1,392.46 an ounce today, according to the news outlet. Gold futures were at $1,388.20 an ounce, up $15.20 from the previous session. Gold prices were down earlier in the week as the dollar index was up.

Silver prices also increased today, to $23.68 an ounce, a rise of $5.45, Reuters said. Silver increased to $24.43 an ounce earlier in the week — nearing a high not seen since August 15 — thanks to a spike in silver imports in India, the Financial Times reported.

Copper prices also continued to increase today. The metal was helped by news that the Fed will hold off on scaling back its stimulus program. In London, copper for delivery in three months rose to $7,193.75 a tonne, a rise of $86.33. In New York, prices were up $0.03, to $3.276 a pound, according to Bloomberg.

Brent crude oil prices were also up today due to investors buying contracts ahead of a possible military strike against Syria, which could cause a spike in the price of oil, as per Reuters. Brent crude oil futures for October delivery rose $0.89, to $116.25 per barrel.

Related reading: 

Gold Clipped on Strong US Data, Profit-taking Over Syria

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Copper Ends Down, US Dollar Climbs