Gold prices traded higher on Monday after the most-active contract booked its first weekly advance in four weeks through Friday. The U.S. dollar and Treasury yields were little-changed, easing some of the pressure that has recently faced the yellow metal.
Price action
-
Gold futures for December delivery
GC00,
+0.11% GCZ23,
+0.11%
gained $2.40, or 0.1%, to $1,942.30 per ounce on Comex. -
Silver futures for September delivery
SI00,
+0.00% SIU23,
+0.00%
gained 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $24.61 per ounce. -
October platinum
PL00,
+0.24% PLV23,
+0.24%
fell by $1.20, or 0.1%, to $947 per ounce, while palladium for September
PA00,
+0.89% PAZ23,
+1.07%
gained $6.90, or 0.6%, to $1,236 per ounce. -
Copper for September delivery
HGU23,
-0.07%
rose by 2 cents, or 0.4%, to $3.80 per pound.
Market drivers
Gold prices tumbled on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at the possibility of more interest-rate hikes. Still, prices managed a more than 1% gain for the week, as worries about a slowing economy and turbulent markets in China helped spur demand for the yellow metal.
The big question now is, Will global bond yields continue to climb, heaping more pressure on the yellow metal? Another threat is the U.S. dollar, which is nearing its highest level since March.
“On the charts, gold has held support at the $1,900 area, but more dollar strength or rising yields would jeopardize the YTD,” said Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader and founder of Sevens Report Research.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
was marginally lower at 4.231%, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
a gauge of the buck’s value against its main rivals, was marginally higher at 104.10. Bond yields move inversely to prices.