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Spot gold fell Thursday by 0.6 percent, to $1,196.35 per ounce, changing little from Wednesday, when it climbed 1.8 percent for its highest single-day rally since January 30. Meanwhile, silver was in the spotlight this week for achieving a 6-percent gain during Q1.
Spot gold fell Thursday by 0.6 percent, to $1,196.35 per ounce, changing little from Wednesday, when it climbed 1.8 percent for its highest single-day rally since January 30. The move came before the Easter holiday weekend, and most of the markets will be closed on Friday.
Meanwhile, US gold for June delivery dropped $11.60 an ounce to $1,196.60.
The yellow metal was spurred upward by lower-than-expected US economic growth, with March seeing the lowest number of new workers added in over a year, according to Reuters. While that means a weaker US dollar against other currencies, it bodes well for gold.
Looking ahead, investors are waiting for Friday’s release of the US nonfarm payroll report. “The precious metal could face higher volatility as we approach towards the Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payroll number,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst for AvaTrade. “[But] we may actually see a weak number, which could push the dollar lower.”
For its part, silver dropped Thursday by 1.7 percent, hitting $16.61 an ounce. On a brighter note, silver was the strongest performer of the precious metals during Q1, and rose 6 percent overall.
Copper on the London Metal Stock Exchange has been on a steady increase since hitting a five-and-a-half-year low in January, but it dropped to a two-week low earlier this week, closing at $5,980 a tonne, Reuters notes in an article. That said, the price is expected to remain stable as slow economic growth in China has kept Chinese investors indecisive about demand. This hesitancy is expected to lock the price in place for some time.
“We’re expecting relatively flat demand growth in China this year,” said Sydney-based AME Group analyst Matt Fusarelli.
Meanwhile, copper on the COMEX gained slightly this week, climbing 0.31 percent to close at $2.748, as per Investing.com. The increase came after the metal hit its lowest price since March 20 midway through the week.
Regarding Brent crude, Reuters notes in a different article that global talks about Iran’s nuclear program could allow the country to introduce additional oil into world markets. As a result, the price of crude dropped $1.80, to $55.30 per barrel.
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