Gold price hardly changed as dollar claws back recent losses
New York (Feb 19) Gold prices were mostly flat on Monday as the dollar clawed back some recent losses and stocks rose, but US inflation fears kept buyers in the metal.
Spot gold was flat at $1,347.31/oz at 11.24am GMT.
The metal rose 2.4% last week in its biggest weekly gain in more than five months. US gold slipped 0.4% to $1,350/oz.
"Gold is doing relatively well in a risk-on environment. The safe-haven appeal [in gold] is a bit in question but it has a lot to do with movements in the dollar which has recovered somewhat," said ABN AMRO commodity strategist Georgette Boele.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was firm on Monday after shedding 1.4% last week.
Investors piled into gold last week on concerns that US inflation could heat up. In wider markets, world stocks extended their recovery on Monday while oil inched higher. The minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, held amid the equities tumble on January 30-31, are due on Wednesday. Besides the outlook on rates, markets will be keen to see what the Fed made of the market gyrations.
A 37-page indictment filed by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies with meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Russia denounced the allegations. Gold is often used as a hedge against geopolitical uncertainty.
Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long positions in Comex gold in the week to February 13, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. Trading is expected to be slower than usual this week due Lunar New Year celebrations in China. Monday is also a market holiday in the United States.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.39% to 824.54 tonnes on Friday.
Among other precious metals, silver was steady at $16.67/oz after falling 1.2% in the previous session.
Platinum was up 0.8% at $1,010/oz, after earlier touching its highest in over three weeks at $1,013.50.
Palladium rose 0.2% to $1,045.99/oz after touching its highest in about two weeks.
"Palladium has been expensive and overvalued for a long time now so I could see it go lower from here," ABN AMRO’s Boelle said.
Reuters
