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Precious metals are being negatively impacted by the dollar’s strength, but Brent crude is set to make its first weekly gain in the last three weeks.
Gold sank 0.5 percent, or $6.09, this morning, hitting $1,219.40 an ounce, according to Reuters. US gold futures also lost 0.5 percent, or $6.10, to trade at $1,220.40.
The dollar is performing well, spurred by a drop in US jobless claims, and that is making gold less appealing as an investment.
“We should expect more weakness in gold over the next two to four weeks because of continued strength in the U.S. dollar and probably a test of $1,200/$1,180 … a break through that level would trigger technical follow-up selling and prices could go much lower,” Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the news outlet states that silver is down 1.1 percent, or $0.20, trading at $18.26 per ounce; it is on track for a week-over-week decline.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange today rose 0.2 percent, or $13.70, to trade at $6,852 per tonne, another Reuters article notes, as signs point to a recovering US economy and possible attendant rise in copper demand. The metal is on course for a flat ending to the week.
“I am bullish on all industrial metals as we may see more demand with an improvement in growth especially in the U.S.,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade, told the publication.
On the COMEX in New York, copper for December delivery is up 0.1 percent, or $0.003, trading at $3.098 per pound, as per Bloomberg.
Finally, Brent crude is down $0.04, at $97.66 per barrel, and is set to make its first weekly gain in the last three weeks. The commodity has held below $100 for most of the month as global oil production is above demand.
“With the macroeconomics still remaining relatively soft, we still believe that crude oil prices should come under pressure,” Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance, told Reuters.
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