The Conversation (0)
Gold and silver moved up on Friday due to “low bond yields and falling stocks,” but it’s the US dollar that will ultimately determine how the metals fare.
On Friday spot gold bounced back from the nine-month low it reached the previous day, gaining 0.1 percent to reach $1,223.10 an ounce, Reuters reported.
Thursday’s low of $1,206.85 was partially fueled by the US dollar, which held near a four-year high for most of the week. The rebound was sparked by investors’ return to safe-haven assets like gold due to a sell off in US equities.
The metal’s Friday rebound puts it on track for a weekly gain of 0.6 percent, according to Reuters.
“We received a boost yesterday from low bond yields and falling stocks, but it is the dollar that holds the key … and at the moment it’s really a question of how strong the bullish sentiment towards the dollar is,” Saxo Bank manager Ole Hansen said to the news outlet.
Similarly, silver enjoyed a rise of 0.7 percent, hitting $17.59 an ounce.
The two metals’ future performance will likely depend on upcoming US economic data — specifically the September jobs report due October 3. Already it’s been announced that the nation’s economy grew at its fastest rate in over two years during the second quarter.
Meanwhile, copper for December delivery on the COMEX in New York increased 0.2 percent, to $3.0365 a pound, according to Bloomberg. Similar gains were made by three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, which climbed 0.2 percent, reaching $6,705.50 a tonne.
Finally, Brent crude for delivery in November edged down $0.12 to settle at $96.88 a barrel, as per another Reuters article.
Jon Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York, told the publication that Brent is being affected by a number of factors, including US economic data and activity from traditional oil suppliers. “Brent is being buffeted by the supply dynamic and mixed messages from OPEC on output control,” he noted.