Gold Price News: Gold Prices Pull Back From All-Time Highs

Gold prices fell back on Thursday, having rallied to fresh all-time highs on Wednesday.

Prices fell as low as $2,440 an ounce on Thursday, down from a high of $2,484 an ounce on Wednesday.

US initial jobless claims figures came out on Thursday showing a higher-than-expected increase of 243,000 in the week to July 13. Other things being equal, a rise in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits would be expected to support gold as a safe haven investment. However, Wednesday’s rally to all-time highs may have proved too much of an incentive for profit-taking, resulting in a pull-back.

Moreover, the gains seen earlier in the week were linked to lower US inflation figures in June and comments from policymakers suggesting the US Fed will not wait for inflation to fall to the 2% target before cutting interest rates. Since the market has now fully priced in these cuts to start in September, any further data pointing to a sluggish US economy has little scope to alter that assessment.

The market has also been on alert due to increased political uncertainty in the US after the recent attempted assassination of Donald Trump and questions over whether President Biden is the best candidate to lead the Democrats’ re-election bid ahead of the November 5 vote.

Elsewhere, open interest on gold futures on the Comex increased for a second straight week, rising to $133 billion in the week to July 12, according to World Gold Council data: Gold Open Interest Chart 2021 | World Gold Council.

That compared with $121.7 billion in the week to July 5, and $104.9 billion in the week to June 28, the figures showed. The most recent figure surpassed the previous high of $130.2 billion seen in the week to May 17.