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On Friday, the spot gold price slipped 1 percent, to $1,171.76 an ounce, as investors reacted to US Fed comments that indicate a rate hike is still likely this year. Silver and oil also fell, though copper was able to post a gain.
On Friday, the spot gold price slipped 1 percent, to $1,171.76 an ounce, as investors reacted to US Federal Reserve comments that indicate a rate hike is still likely within the year, according to Reuters.
Specifically, the Fed revealed it believes the current economic slowdown to be temporary, which fueled speculation regarding an upcoming rate increase.
Simon Weeks, head of precious metals at the Bank of Nova Scotia, noted, “[t]here is still fallout from the FOMC — there has been a hiccup in the U.S. recovery, but certainly the view is that interest rates are going up, so gold is struggling.”
Prior to Friday’s decline, gold climbed earlier in the week as a weak US GDP report pushed investors toward safe-haven investments.
News from the Fed meeting reverberated throughout the commodities markets and pushed the silver price down 1 percent, to $15.95 an ounce.
However, while gold and silver struggled, the copper price ticked up on the LME in response to new Chinese stimulus measures, as per Reuters. The metal reached $6,392 a tonne, its highest point since December of last year. Demand for copper is usually high at this time of year, and supply has been unexpectedly low. Its price could continue to climb in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, COMEX copper for July delivery rose 1.32 percent, to $2.89 a pound, MarketWatch states.
Finally, news that Iraq’s oil exports reached the highest level in 30 years pushed the oil price down, with the Brent crude price tumbling 1.3 percent, to $66.18, on Friday. That said, it was still up for the week overall, and some believe a decline in US crude inventories will elevate the price in the coming weeks, according to another MarketWatch article.
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