Gold Price News: Gold Makes Late Gains to Pare Weekly Losses

Gold prices moved back above the $2,600 an ounce mark on Friday, showing a moderate recovery from a mid-week slump.

Prices rose as high as $2,630 an ounce on Friday, up from around $2,595 an ounce in late trades on Thursday.

US rate cut drives dollar higher

Gold prices fell as low as $2,585 an ounce on Wednesday after the US Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected. The rate cut helped to drive the US dollar up to a two-year high against other major currencies, and this put downward pressure on dollar-denominated gold prices.

Gold showed a modest recovery from the lows on Wednesday, to post week-on-week losses of just under 1%.

Technical analysis

On the technical charts, gold bounced off oblique minor support at around $2,575 to $2,585 an ounce during the week and was trading on Friday a little below its 20-day moving average at $2,644. On the upside, any further gains from here could encounter oblique minor resistance at $2,698 an ounce. Should gold move lower, prices could re-test horizontal trend-line support at $2,550 an ounce, followed by oblique major support, currently at $2,529 an ounce.

Upcoming data

Looking ahead, Monday will bring a monthly update on Canadian GDP figures, followed by US consumer confidence figures for December. A further update on the US economy will come on Tuesday in the form of durable goods orders for November. Beyond that, the markets will be winding down for the seasonal break, and while this may leave gold prices open to temporary volatility, trading volumes are likely to tail off until the New Year.