On Friday, the U.S. dollar and bond rates modestly declined from highs, and gold nudged up from 5-month lows. However, bullion was expected to decrease for a fourth consecutive week due to worries over the Federal Reserve’s higher-for-longer interest rate outlook.
Fundamentals
Spot gold gained 0.2% to $1,892.70 per ounce by 0141 GMT, after touching its lowest since mid-March on Thursday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,923.20.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell from their highest levels since October, while the dollar index dropped 0.3%, making non-yielding bullion less expensive for overseas buyers. [USD/] [US/]
U.S. 30-year yields also hit 12-year highs on Thursday, as strong economic data raised investor expectations that the Fed will hold interest rates higher for longer.
Americans made fewer new claims for unemployment benefits last week, indicating that the labour market remains tight despite a slowdown in job growth.
Investors are now anticipating Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on the economy’s future on August 25 at the annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Core consumer inflation in Japan decreased in July but continued to exceed the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) price goal for the sixteenth consecutive month.
China Evergrande, the most indebted real estate developer in the world and the face of China’s housing crisis, filed for protection from creditors in a U.S. bankruptcy court on Thursday.
The largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund in the world, SPDR Gold Trust, said that its holdings dropped 0.8% to 887.50 tonnes on Thursday, marking its lowest level since January 2020. [GOL/ETF]
Platinum increased 1% to $898.40 while spot silver increased 0.8% to $22.86 per ounce. To $1,230.72, palladium increased 1.1%.