Gold prices pushed higher on Friday, testing the upside at above $2,400 an ounce, as tensions continued to simmer in the Middle-East after an apparent Israeli strike against Iran.
Prices rose to a high of $2,418 an ounce before easing back to around $2,395 an ounce later in the session. That compared with around $2,380 an ounce in late deals on Thursday.
News agencies on Friday reported that Israel had launched limited air strikes overnight against the Isfahan province of central Iran. Iran’s foreign minister reportedly said that no-one was injured and that no damage had occurred as a result of the attack.
Nevertheless, the latest developments were enough to inject fresh risk premium into the gold price, keeping the metal supported due to its safe-haven appeal.
Looking ahead, Monday will see the release of Euro Area consumer confidence figures, for the latest snapshot on the outlook for the European economy, followed by a speech by ECB President Christine Lagarde.
Then on Tuesday, the markets will be watching out for US manufacturing and services PMI data for a pulse check on the health of the US economy, followed by US durable goods orders on Wednesday.
Looking further out, Thursday will see the release of US GDP growth rates for Q1 as well as weekly initial jobless claims, which may provide the latest pointers for monetary policy going forward.
Frank’s experience covering the commodities markets spans 22 years, with a particular specialism in metals, carbon and energy markets. He has worked as a senior editor for S&P Global Commodity Insights (formerly Platts) and before this, at ICIS-LOR, a part of Reed Business Information (Reed Elsevier), where he covered the petrochemicals markets from 2003 to 2005.
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