Gold prices edged slightly higher Friday, to close out a week of strong gains for the precious metal.
Prices made incremental gains to trade as high as $1,993 an ounce Friday, compared with a low of $1,959 an ounce Thursday. The strength in gold left prices up by around $58 or 3% week on week – gains which reversed most of the previous week’s losses.
On the macro front, data released Thursday showed that US jobless claims grew more than expected, casting a shadow over the outlook for the economy and adding further weight to expectations that the US Fed will consider halting its interest rate hike cycle.
In addition, weaker data for Europe’s economy have prompted speculation that the ECB is likely to cut interest rates next year by up to 1%, according to news reports this week. Any cut to interest rates among the large economies is a clear bullish factor for gold prices and other assets which do not earn a yield.
The coming week will see a shortened trading week due to the US Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and an early close on Friday. Eyes will be on the US monthly durable goods orders figures due out Wednesday and Japanese inflation rate data on Friday.
Carlo is an external market analyst for Kinesis Money. With a credential background in Economic Finance and International Exchange (MA), Carlo’s critical analysis of gold and silver markets’ performance is frequently quoted by leading publications such as Forbes, Reuters, CNBC, and Nasdaq.
This publication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a solicitation, offering or recommendation of any security, commodity, derivative, investment management service or advisory service and is not commodity trading advice. This publication does not intend to provide investment, tax or legal advice on either a general or specific basis.
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