Gold Price News: Gold Ends Lower in Subdued Market

Gold prices ended marginally lower on Friday, capping a lacklustre week for the yellow metal, as the market lacked convincing momentum in either direction.

Prices eased as low as $2,325 an ounce on Friday, having briefly spiked as high as $2,360 an ounce. That compared with around $2,344 an ounce in late trades on Thursday.

Most of the action seen through the week took place within $15 either side of $2,345 an ounce. The relative stability contrasted with the previous week when gold prices hit an all-time high of $2,450 an ounce on May 20.

Gold’s initial strength on Friday followed US Core PCE Price Index figures released Friday afternoon which came in at a 0.2% rise for April vs March levels. That was below market expectations of a 0.3% rise, and marked the smallest increase so far in 2024.

Signs of slower price inflation are seen as providing the US Fed with more leeway to cut interest rates this year, which is generally a bullish factor for non-yield-bearing assets like gold. This came against a recent backdrop of fading hopes of interest rate cuts this summer, with most bets now on the autumn as the most likely start of a rate-cutting cycle.

However, gold prices fell through the afternoon session to end slightly lower on a day-on-day basis, and down to a three-week low.

The price weakness at the end of the week may indicate a degree of fatigue emerging in the market after the all-time highs seen the previous week, with prices showing less appetite to continue pushing higher, even in the wake of notionally bullish macro signals.

Looking ahead, Monday will see Chinese and US manufacturing figures for May, while eyes will also be on the US JOLTs job openings figures for April due for release on Tuesday.