Gold prices nudged a few cents lower on Friday in rather subdued conditions, with little to provide renewed momentum in either direction.
Prices ticked lower to $2,156 an ounce in late trades on Friday, compared with around $2,162 an ounce on Thursday.
The relative stability through the week followed a volatile period in the first half of March which saw gold prices notch up all-time highs of around $2,195 an ounce.
The market appeared to be taking a breather, and despite the slight pullback through the week, gold managed to hold most of the gains made in the first two weeks of the month.
Prices showed little reaction to Friday’s Michigan consumer sentiment preliminary figures for March, which edged down to a three-month low of 76.5, compared with expectations of 76.9.
US bank JP Morgan this week said it believes gold has the potential to reach $2,500 an ounce this year, although the bank’s bullish outlook is linked to a moderation in inflation and jobs figures, which would allow the US Fed to start cutting interest rates.
The news comes a few days after another US bank, Goldman Sachs, raised its gold price forecast for 2024 by 6%, citing recent central bank purchasing and strong retail demand from emerging markets as two of the key drivers.
Elsewhere, the markets will be watching out for further signs that could help shape the prospects for upcoming monetary policy changes.
Monday will see the release of Euro Area inflation numbers for February, while Tuesday will see Euro Area economic sentiment figures as well as Canadian inflation numbers, for further clues on the state of key industrialised economies.
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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