Gold Price holds above $1,150, but on track for weekly fall
San Francisco (Mar 13) Gold futures held their ground above the $1,150-an-ounce level on Friday, finding some support as economic data cooled expectations for a rate hike as early as June, but prices remained on track for a weekly loss.
Gold wavered between small losses and gains. April gold GCJ5, -0.03% was last down 70 cents at $1,151.10 an ounce on Comex. For the week, it was ready to log a loss of 1.2%.
May silver SIK5, -0.17% fell 4.6 cents, or 0.3%, at $15.47 an ounce, trading 2.1% lower for the week.
Gold had held on to earlier gains after data showed the U.S. producer-price index fell more than expected. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index came in at 91.2 in March, the worst reading since November.
“The narrative for the gold market hasn’t changed,” according to Friday’s 7:00’s Report, which offers daily markets commentary. The “medium-term outlook remains bearish as the dollar remains in a well-defined uptrend but near term, there is a decent chance for a short-covering rally back to the high $1,100s or $1,200.”
Euro Faces Potential Rough Week With FOMC On Tap
The euro has tumbled to multiyear lows against most other currencies and could be falling even further next week if the U.S. Federal Reserve strikes a hawkish tone at its policy meeting.
A stronger dollar weighs on dollar-denominated commodities, making them more expensive to users of other currencies.
Expectations for a June rate hike by the Fed has helped support for the dollar. The ICE Dollar Index DXY, +0.84% topped 100 Friday, putting pressure on gold prices.
In the coming week, the Federal Reserve meeting will be the most important element for gold traders, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. “If the Fed are bullish, this could hurt the gold price further,” he said.
In other metals trade, April platinum PLJ5, -0.06% fell 80 cents, or 0.1%, to $1,114.10 an ounce, while June palladium PAM5, +0.33% tacked on $2.55, or 0.3%, to $789.50 an ounce. Both contracts were looking at a loss of more than 3% for the week.
Copper was the lone gainer among the major metals on Comex. May copper futures HGK5, -0.21% fell less than a penny to $2.652 a pound — up 1.7% for the week.
Source: MarketWatch
