Comments
Gold prices edged down on Friday to near their lowest levels this year, pressured by a firm US dollar amid surging US Treasury yields.
Spot gold was down about 0.1 per cent at $1,289.16 per ounce at 0253 GMT, after hitting its lowest since December 27 in the previous session at $1,285.41. The metal was heading for its biggest weekly decline since early-December.
US gold futures for June delivery were 0.1 per cent lower at $1,288.30 per ounce. The dollar hovered near a five-month peak against a basket of currencies on Friday thanks to the benchmark US Treasury yield topping a seven-year high.
“The 10-year US yields put the dollar on a firm foot and put pressure on metals and gold,” said a Hong Kong-based trader, adding that some “risk-on” sentiment in markets today was also adding pressure.
A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for the users of other currencies, while higher US yields dampen the appeal for non-yielding bullion.
“$1,285 has been good support for the past couple of days, so that's the first support we'll see if it (spot gold) can hold,” the trader said. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak with media.
US-China trade tensions
Meanwhile, Asian stocks were treading water on Friday as investors kept a cautious watch on developments in US-China trade negotiations. US President Donald Trump had said on Thursday that China had become “very spoiled” on trade with the United States and cast doubt on the success of his efforts to rebalance the relationship with Beijing as high-stakes US-China negotiations opened in Washington.
North Korea summit
Trump had sought on Thursday to placate North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un after Pyongyang threatened to scrap an unprecedented summit. “Without some resolution on both North Korea as well as the ongoing trade talks with the Chinese, we suspect the overall drift in markets will likely continue, with the path of least resistance for gold against such a backdrop being lower,” INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.
In other metals, silver was little changed at $16.41 an ounce. Palladium rose 0.2 per cent to $979.50, while platinum was 0.2 per cent higher at $890.20 per ounce after hitting a five-month low at $879 on Thursday. However, all three of those metals were heading for weekly losses.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.