Gold Price News: Gold Hits One-Month High

Gold prices rose further on Friday to cap a bullish week for the precious metal, as the supportive effects of market uncertainty appeared to eclipse US data which cast doubt over the prospects for further interest rate cuts.

Prices approached the $2,700 an ounce mark, reaching an intraday high of $2,699 an ounce on Friday, having rebounded from an earlier drop to as low as $2,664 an ounce. That was the highest price for gold since December 12^th. Friday showed the fourth straight daily rise in gold prices, bringing the metal’s weekly gains to 1.79%.

Figures show a stronger than expected US economy

US data released on Friday painted a stronger than expected view on the US economy, strengthening the case for the US Fed to hold interest rates unchanged in the coming months – seen as a negative for gold prices, given earlier expectations of cuts.

These included the non-farm payrolls figures for December which showed that the US economy added 256,000 jobs in December, compared with expectations of only 160,000. The US unemployment rate for December was also released on Friday showing a drop to 4.1%, compared with expectations that the rate would be unchanged from November levels of 4.2%.

Market uncertainty maintains interest in gold

Gold’s strength on Friday also came despite a rise in the dollar against other major currencies. Gold appears to have taken support from market uncertainty over the incoming administration in the US as the markets try to assess the likelihood and impact of trade tariffs, and this has come amid ongoing geopolitical tensions which raise the risk of wider conflicts.

Central banks raise gold buying in November

Separately, central banks increased their gold purchases to 53 tonnes in November, taking advantage of a dip in prices, according to World Gold Council figures: Central bank gold statistics: November 2024. The figure included 21 tonnes by the National Bank of Poland, Uzbekistan with 9 tonnes, India with 8 tonnes, and Kazakhstan and China with 5 tonnes each. The largest seller in November was Singapore with 5 tonnes, it said.

Upcoming data

Looking ahead, Tuesday will bring US Producer Price Inflation figures for December, while Wednesday will see Euro Area industrial production figures for November, followed by US monthly inflation figures.