Gold set for best week since August; US jobs data eyed
Fri Dec 07 2018
Gold prices rose slightly on
Friday and were headed for their best week in 15, as the dollar weakened
following a decline in US Treasury yields, while investors awaited US non-farm
payroll data for clues about the health of the world's top economy.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at
$1,239.24 per ounce, as of 0125 GMT, having hit a near five-month peak at
$1,244.32 per ounce in the previous session. US gold futures were up 0.1 per
cent at $1,244.6 per ounce.
The dollar index inched lower,
weighed down by worries about lower US long-term Treasury yields and
expectations of a fewer rate hikes by the US central bank.
Atlanta Federal Reserve bank
president Raphael Bostic had on Thursday said he felt the Fed should continue
raising rates towards a “neutral” level, noting that despite recent market
volatility and increasing uncertainty, he did not see “any indications of a
material weakening in the macroeconomic data at the moment’’.
The US economy is “performing
very well overall,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, capping a week
of widespread market nervousness with a reminder that the US economy continues
to expand.
Asian share markets tried to find
their footing on Friday as speculation the Federal Reserve might be
“one-and-done” with US rate hikes helped salve some wounds after a punishing
week.
Gold-backed exchange-traded funds
(ETFs) registered inflows in all the world's major regions in November, as
volatile stock markets fuelled flight-to-safety buying, the World Gold Council
had said on Thursday.
Markets face a test from US
payrolls data later in the session amid speculation the economy was heading for
a tough patch after years of solid growth. US oil prices stabilised on Friday,
buoyed by a fall in US crude oil inventories, but the sentiment remained weak
as producer group OPEC postponed a final decision on output cuts, awaiting
support from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia.
Most industrial metals prices
fell on Thursday and copper hit a three-week low after the arrest of a top
Chinese executive in Canada dampened hopes for a resolution to the US-China
trade conflict. The US trade deficit jumped to a 10-year high in October as
soybean exports dropped further and imports of consumer goods rose to a record
high.
Source: Reuters