Gold futures were marginally higher on Friday, putting the metal on track for its biggest weekly rise since late May. The swings in the precious metal come as the dollar has remained relatively stable this week, with the buck down 0.2 percent on Friday, according to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.22 percent, placing the dollar’s weekly movement at practically flat.
Long-dated Treasury yields, which have fallen to their lowest levels since February, have also contributed to the bullish outlook for gold, but government bond yields were moving higher to conclude the holiday-shortened week. Monday was a holiday in the United States, with markets closed to honor the Fourth of July. Investing in precious metals has been bolstered by lingering concerns about the economy, as well as the spread of COVID-19’s delta variant and high equities valuations, according to strategists. After the largest drop in U.S. shares in three weeks, an attempt to recover in equities may be dampening haven interest for gold. Trading in gold and other precious metals has been driven by doubts about the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy strategy, which includes winding back its $120 billion-a-month asset-purchase program. “Indeed, investors have a lot to deal with, and there is still lots of uncertainty as to where the global economy is going, with US tapering, virus cases increasing up, and travel restrictions being lifted,” wrote Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades. “For enhanced market directionality, prices will have to either clear the $1814 level or break the $1790 support,” the analyst stated. After losing 0.5 percent on Thursday, silver for September delivery SIU21, +0.20 percent SI00, +0.20 percent fell 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to trade around $25.93 an ounce. Silver is down 2.2 percent for the week, while gold is on track for a 1% weekly gain, which would be its biggest since the period ending May 28./n
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