Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price Set for Biggest Weekly Gain in Five Weeks

The gold price was on track for its biggest weekly gain in five weeks on Friday (May 19) as political turmoil increased demand for safe-haven assets. A weaker US dollar also supported prices.
“The gold rally was overdone and there was a correction on Thursday (May 18). But perhaps, it came down a little too much from the highs of yesterday. So people started to pick up again,” said Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore. “People are still wary of geo-political risks and not selling the safe-haven asset yet.”
After a week seen as US President Donald Trump’s toughest time in the office, doubts about his ability to push legislation through Congress are surging. 
“Safe-haven buying has provided strong support to gold prices over the past six months,” ANZ said in a note. “However, rising geopolitical risks in the US and elsewhere are likely to propel prices even higher, despite the spectre of a rate hike in the US next month.”
That said, some believe Trump’s presidency crisis could mean that the US Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates in June. “[The] market now only rates the probability of the US Fed raising interest rates at its next meeting in mid-June as being roughly 70 percent,” Commerzbank analysts said.
For now, market uncertainty has left gold stuck between so-called key support and resistance levels, Fawad Razaqzada, a technical analyst at Forex.com, told Marketwatch. As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, the gold price was at $1,253.03 per ounce.

Looking over to the silver price, the white metal was on track for a weekly gain of almost 3 percent, also supported by political uncertainty in the US. As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, the white metal was at $16.79 per ounce.
Meanwhile, platinum was down 0.4 percent, at $930.25 an ounce, while palladium gained 0.5 percent to reach $765.90 per ounce.
On the base metals side, copper was on track for a weekly gain. It rose on Friday thanks to a weaker dollar and worries over China’s economy. LME copper ended up 1.8 percent at $5,682 a tonne.
Lastly, spot oil was set for a weekly gain as investors are optimistic about the outcome of an OPEC meeting next week that could extend production cuts for another several months. “A six-month extension to current cuts had been the baseline of expectations,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.
On Friday, June West Texas Intermediate crude rose 94 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $50.29 a barrel. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures Exchange gained $1.06, or 2 percent, to reach $53.57 a barrel.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price Steady on Political Uncertainty
By Priscila Barrera, May 12, 2017
The gold price rose on Friday (May 12), as increasing political concerns boosted demand for the yellow metal.
“You continue to see the political uncertainty continue to support gold,” ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold told Reuters, naming the dismissal of FBI head James Comey and the upcoming British election as sources of uncertainty.
However, in the lead up to the US Federal Reserve’s next meeting, it’s possible that gold could come under pressure. Experts believe the market is pricing in around a 90-percent chance that the central bank will increase rates in June.
“The big signs for gold are going to be a combination of interest-rate movement and stock market fear as we enter the seasonally weak months of the year (May 1 through Halloween),” said Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management Group.
As of 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday, the gold price was $1,227.78 per ounce, headed for its best week of the year.

Looking over to the silver price, the white metal rose for the first time in four weeks on Friday, gaining 0.6 percent. That was a recovery from the five-month low of $16.20 per ounce that it hit earlier in the month.
As of 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday (May 12), silver was at $16.42 per ounce. Platinum was up 0.2 percent, at $915.74 an ounce, while palladium rose 0.3 percent, to $804.50.
On the base metals side, copper prices hit a one-week high on Thursday (May 11) and rose again on Friday, supported by falling stockpiles and China’s move to ease monetary policy. Three-month copper on the LME ended up 0.3 percent at $5,559 a tonne.
Lastly, spot oil was on track to gain more than 3 percent for the week. A larger-than-expected fall in US crude inventories of 5.3 million barrels suggests cuts by OPEC and other producers are having an effect on the market, analysts said. Even so, the cuts may be extended later this month.
On Friday, Brent crude futures were down 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $50.52 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 33 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $47.52 per barrel.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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This article is updated weekly. Please scroll the top for the most recent information.

Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price Set for Biggest Loss Since November
By Priscila Barrera, May 5, 2017
The gold price was under pressure this week, buffeted by better-than-expected US jobs data and a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. 
“The US employment [data] was stronger than expected,” ABN Amro (AMS:ABN) analyst Georgette Boele told Reuters. “This only put gold prices slightly under pressure, because the US dollar didn’t rally.”
The jobs report was released after this week’s FOMC meeting, where committee members signaled that they will stay on a gradual path toward policy tightening, with an interest rate hike expected as early as next month.
“It was mostly a good [US job] report, which will likely have prompted most people to think the Fed is on, so that would apply downside pressure on gold,” Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said to Bloomberg.
Geopolitical tensions, which drove gold higher last month, also faded. Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is the favorite to win the French presidential election this Sunday (May 7), and that has eased investors’ concerns.
“Following six weeks of fund buying, gold was left exposed as geo-risks faded, but the fact that ETPs have seen limited selling appetite could be an indication that this was mostly speculative sellers reducing longs,” Saxo Bank’s head of commodities research, Ole Hansen, explained to Reuters.
As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday (May 5), the gold price was at $1,232.25 per ounce.

Looking over to the silver price, the white metal has fallen 10 percent in the last two weeks, and touched a four-month low on Thursday (May 4). As with gold, it was affected by this week’s FOMC decision. As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, the metal was sitting at $16.30 per ounce.
Meanwhile, platinum was up 1.2 percent, at $909.90 an ounce, while palladium was 0.5 percent higher, at $807.72 per ounce.
On the base metals side, the copper price hit a five-month low on Thursday as inventories in LME warehouses surged and concerns about demand increased. But copper recovered on Friday, closing 0.8 percent higher, at $5,585 a tonne.
Lastly, oil prices rebounded on Friday, after trading at five-month lows during the week. Prices were supported by assurances from Saudi Arabia that Russia will join OPEC in extending supply cuts.
“Based on today’s data, there’s a growing conviction that a six-month extension may be needed to rebalance the market, but the length of the extension is not firm yet,” a Saudi official said.
Brent futures were up $1.20, or 2.5 percent, at $49.58 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.09, or 2.4 percent, at $46.61 per barrel.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.