Gold Price News: Gold Hovers Near Record Peaks

Gold prices posted a modest rebound on Thursday after Wednesday’s pullback from all-time highs.

Prices edged higher to $2,743 an ounce on Thursday, compared with a low of $2,724 an ounce on Wednesday.

Wednesday saw gold prices hit a fresh all-time high of $2,758 an ounce before falling back later in the day. Thursday’s action shows that gold is comfortably trading at well above the $2,720 an ounce mark for the time being and remains supported by the current environment of falling interest rates and elevated geopolitical risk.

US jobless claims come in below expectations

US initial jobless claims figures for the week ending October 19 came out on Thursday showing a fall of 15,000 from the previous week to 227,000, well below market expectations of around 242,000. The figures point to a slightly stronger-than-expected US labour market and may have been taken as a sign that further loosening of monetary policy is less urgent. This may have contributed to gold’s easing back later on Thursday from the earlier intraday highs.

Kazan summit underlines cross-border payments system

Amid recent speculation over the launch of a possible BRICS currency at an international summit this week in Kazan, southern Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying Russia was not seeking to reject the US dollar, but rather to seek alternative methods of payment if the situation requires it.

The idea of a BRICS currency has garnered interest in recent months over the possibility that it could be partially backed by gold. Putin’s comments come in the context of sanctions against Russia which have restricted the country’s access to global financial systems dominated by the dollar. Some members of the bloc are understood to be opposed to efforts to de-dollarize the global economy. The outcome of the Kazan summit appeared to place more emphasis on a common cross-border payments system, rather than a new BRICs currency.

Economic data to watch out for

Friday will see the release of US durable goods orders for September, followed by the Michigan consumer sentiment figures for October, for the latest snapshot on the health of the US economy.