Gold futures rose for the day on Friday, bringing the commodity to its third straight weekly gain, as choppy stock markets, a sluggish dollar, and swiftly falling yields provided a bullish combination for bullion in a holiday-shortened week in the United States. The swings in gold come as the dollar has been under pressure, with the greenback down 0.2 percent on Friday and off slightly to flat for the week, according to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.29%.
Based on last Friday’s closing level, August gold GCQ21, +0.61 percent GC00, +0.61 percent traded $10.40, or 0.6 percent, higher to close at $1,810.60 an ounce, with a weekly gain of 1.53 percent. The weekly advance was the metal’s third in a row and the biggest since the week ended May 21, according to FactSet data, indicating that the yellow metal is in an uptrend. Long-term Treasury rates, such as the 10-year TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.351 percent and 30-year TMUBMUSD30Y, 1.984 percent, have fallen to their lowest levels since February, adding to the bullish narrative for gold. Lingering concerns about the economy, combined with the spread of COVID-19’s delta variant and high equities valuations, have contributed to support precious metals prices, according to strategists. The positive finish for gold on Friday came despite a rebound in the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.28 percent, the S&P 500 index SPX, +1.08 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.92 percent, which all had their worst day in three weeks on Thursday but were rebounding impressively to end the week. 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. Meanwhile, silver for September delivery SIU21, +0.97 percent SI00, +0.97 percent climbed 24.7 cents, or 1%, to close at $26.234 an ounce, following a 0.5 percent fall on Thursday. Silver, on the other hand, finished the week 1% down. In final Comex trade, October platinum PLV21, +2.12 percent rose $21.20, or 2%, to $1,095.70 an ounce, a weekly gain of 0.7 percent; while palladium for September delivery PAU21, +0.22 percent rose $1.80, or less than 0.1 percent, to $2,812 an ounce. HGU21, copper, September, +1.72 percent
HG00, +1.72 percent increased 8.1 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $4.3455 per pound. Based on the most active contract, high-grade copper gained 1.6 percent for the week./n
