Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price on Track for Weekly Loss

Despite rising on Friday (April 28), the gold price was on track for its biggest weekly drop in seven weeks, as investors turned to riskier assets earlier in the week.
The precious metal suffered after the victory of centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential election. But gold rebounded on Friday, as forecast-beating euro zone inflation boosted the euro against the dollar, Reuters reported.
“The high-risk appetite at the beginning of the week seems to have abated, at least for now. This has definitely helped support the gold price, and the dollar is supportive as well,” Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann told Reuters.
That said, banks remain cautious on gold’s price prospects this year in spite of a strong first-quarter performance. Notably, analysts at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) are now calling for a gold price of $1,200 in the next three months.
But others believe that investors will remain interested in gold, as geopolitical tensions rise and Trump’s unpredictability continues to drive prices.
“The threat of populism in Europe, protectionism and trade tensions under Trump in the US, conflicts in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula will keep investors interested in gold,” Mihir Kapadia, CEO of Sun Global Investments told MarketWatch.

As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, the gold price was trading at $1,267.20 per ounce.

Looking over to silver, prices rose on Friday but were also on track for a large weekly decline due to the results of the first round of the French election. According to Economic Calendar, the gold/silver ratio climbed this week to its highest level since November.
As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, the silver price was trading at $17.31 per ounce.
Other precious metals were also up at the end of the week. Platinum was trading at 1.3 percent higher at $952.50 per ounce, while palladium was up 1.1 percent at $823.70 per ounce.
On the base metals side, copper prices touched a one-week high on Tuesday (April 25), but fell after a four-day rally. However, London copper traded higher on Friday, finding support despite a weak China outlook. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.4 percent to $5,714 a tonne.
Lastly, spot oil prices rose on Friday after a slide to a one-month low the previous day prompted investors to buy at cheaper levels ahead of an OPEC meeting next month at which producers could prolong output curbs.
June West Texas Intermediate crude rose 26 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $49.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while June Brent on London’s ICE Futures exchange was recently up 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $51.64 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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This article is updated each week. Please scroll to the top for the most recent information.

Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price Draws Back on Stronger US Dollar
By Jocelyn Aspa. April 21, 2017
After having its best week since June 2016, the gold price took a step back buoyed by a stronger US dollar.
On Wednesday (April 19), MarketWatch reported that the gold price dropped to its lowest levels in a week as the US dollar made a slight recovery from its three-week lows on Tuesday (April 18).
That said, however, uncertainties over the upcoming French and United Kingdom elections have pushed investors towards the yellow metal as a safe haven asset. MarketWatch further noted the precious metal reached a fifth straight session gain Tuesday to close at its highest level since the beginning of November.
By Friday (April 21), the gold price regained some lost ground in anticipation of the French election and potential tax changes in the US.
“The big news over the weekend will be the French election and the market will be to an extent on hold ahead of that,”Jonathan Butler, Mitsubishi commodities analyst was quoted as saying in Reuters.
As of 1:20 p.m. EST on Friday, the gold price was $1,286.15 per ounce.
Looking over to gold’s sister metal, silver, the white metal had a bit of a similar week.
While the silver price took a bit of a tumble on Thursday, the Economic Calendar reported on Friday that its price was up almost three percent over a seven day period.
The publication stated its price fluctuation has also been impacted by the French presidential election.  As of 1:21 p.m. EST on Friday, the silver price had tumbled to $17.83 per ounce–a 2.33 percent loss over the four-day week.

Other precious metals also took a loss over the week: platinum was trading at $971.265 per ounce as of 1:33 p.m. EST while palladium tumbled to $790 per ounce as of 1:35 p.m. EST on Friday.
In terms of base metals, copper was trading higher over the week, rebounding from big-sell offs that sent it to its lowest trading price of the year, the Economic Calendar reported. According to Reuters, while copper on the London Metal Exchange rose on Thursday, it wasn’t far off from its yearly low following China’s production surge in March. The red metal was up to $5,609 per tonne–a slight increase from its lowest price of $5,530 per ton in January.
Finally, oil prices were also down over the week, although that trend likely won’t continue. DailyFX suggested important figures of OPEC are in favor of extending their ongoing production cut, which should help crude oil prices bounce back.
As of 1:50 p.m. EST on Friday, oil prices were $49.37 per barrel.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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This article is updated each week. Please scroll to the top for the most recent information.

Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price Nears $1,300 After Trump Calls US Dollar “Too Strong”
April 13, 2017
By Priscila Barrera
The gold price was on track for its best week since June 2016 on Thursday morning (April 13).
According to MarketWatch, the metal’s price has been affected by US President Donald Trump’s comment that the US dollar is “too strong.” Trump also said he would prefer that the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.
On the back of those statements, gold and silver rallied as the US dollar fell, making it cheaper for holders of other commodities to buy precious metals.
“Yes, it was negative what [Trump] said … but it’s not a big surprise — it wasn’t a U-turn in his rhetoric on the exchange rate so far,” Commerzbank (LSE:CZB) currency strategist Thu Lan Nguyen told Reuters. “The question is: is he able to influence monetary policy in order to get a weaker dollar? That is still an open question.”
Gold has also been supported by rising geopolitical tension in North Korea and the Middle East.
“Since risk aversion is now in place and equity markets are on the retreat, gold prices are supported, but should this trend reverse, I wouldn’t be surprised to see gold coming under some pressure,” said Eugen Weinberg, who is also from Commerzbank.
The gold price will likely gain 4 to 5 percent in the next six months, Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors said to CNBC.
“We think risk is going to elevate, financial conditions will tighten; one is geopolitical risk, not only internationally, but with domestic policy uncertainty on the tax bill,” he noted.
As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, the gold price was trading at $1,287.34 per ounce.

Looking over to silver, its price surged to a five-month high on Thursday. The white metal was also buoyed by Trump’s comments and is on track for its highest settlement since early November.
As of 1:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, the silver price was trading at $18.54 per ounce.
Other precious metals were also up at the end of the week. Platinum was trading 0.4 percent higher, at $972 per ounce, while palladium was up 0.1 percent, at $797.40 per ounce.
On the base metals side, London copper rebounded on Thursday, supported by a weaker US dollar and upbeat trade data from China. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed 1.1 percent lower, at $5,692 per tonne, after falling to its lowest since January 10 in the previous session.
Lastly, spot oil prices were hit by data on active US oil rigs, which sparked concerns about increased crude production in the country. However, prices saw some support after the International Energy Agency said the global oil market is close to balance after three years of oversupply.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 22 cents Thursday morning, at $55.64 a barrel, after touching a one-month high the previous day. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 12 cents, at $52.99 a barrel, also set for a third consecutive weekly gain.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.