Weekly Round-Up: Gold Price Stabilizes on Greece Concerns

The spot gold price stabilized Friday at $1,181.60 per ounce, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, gold futures for August delivery rose to $1,181.40. 

Investors are worried about the worsening Greek debt crisis. However, that anxiety may not keep the gold price steady for long — market watchers anticipate the metal’s price falling substantially before the end of the year due to the widely anticipated US Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

“We expect a single rate hike in 2015, the million dollar question is whether a rate hike will be able to push it below $1,150,” Hamza Khan, senior strategist at ING Bank, told the news outlet.

Despite investor concerns about Greece, the silver price dipped 0.9 percent, to $15.89 an ounce, on Friday. Greece is closer than ever to default, but investors are confident that global markets could survive the worst.

“The perception is that Europe can handle a Greek default better than it would have in 2010,” said Bernard Dahdah, an analyst at Natixis (EPA:KN).

Meanwhile, the price of copper edged up Friday as investors pinned their hopes on a resurgence in Chinese demand. Reuters reported a 0.2-percent increase in the LME copper price, which hit $5,892.50 a tonne. Meanwhile, COMEX copper rose 0.45 percent, to $2.672 a pound, according to MarketWatch.

Finally, the price of Brent crude slid 55 cents, to $64.56 a barrel, on Friday following gains earlier in the week, as per Bakken Shale News. The decline followed Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it will up production despite global oversupply. The company’s June production could best its record output of 10.3 million barrels per day, achieved in May.

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