Gold price shakes off early profit taking after run to 10-week high

After a brief period of profit-taking, gold showed resilience in trading on Friday, overcoming an early dip to resume higher in New York. The precious metal gained 0.3% to $4,435.00 an ounce, bouncing back from a low of $4,365.50 and peaking at $4,454.60 intraday.

Initially, sellers entered the market following a rally that sent the metal back above the $4,500 level within the week and pushed it to a 10-week high on Thursday. In the spot market, gold dipped to $4,332 an ounce before stabilizing at $4,353.27 by early afternoon in London, marking a 0.1% increase for the week.

In other markets, September silver rose 0.2% to $65.13 an ounce, while spot silver gained 0.4% to $64.75, bringing a 2026 decline to roughly 8%.

Consumer prices experienced minimal growth in July, indicating a potential easing of the energy shock stemming from the Iran war. Producer prices remained unchanged. Now, market expectations have shifted toward a roughly one-in-three chance of a September Federal Reserve rate hike, compared to over 40% a week prior.

Ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting, traders will scrutinize upcoming employment data and Chairman Kevin Warsh's remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium. Analyst Han Tan from Bybit noted that gold is "barely holding onto a weekly advance, as markets indulge in some profit-taking following bullion's mid-week spike to a two-month high."

Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive, added that there isn't a near-term catalyst prompting speculative capital in gold. BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, reported that the precious metals complex rose over 10% month-to-date, with the Federal Reserve likely to maintain its stance for the remainder of 2026 and the dollar index anchored in the 98-102 range. The research house predicts gold to average $4,400 an ounce throughout the year.

In a separate development, Venezuela's government and opposition have jointly requested the Bank of England to release 31 tonnes of frozen gold worth over $4 billion to aid rebuilding efforts following the June earthquakes that claimed over 6,000 lives. The gold has been under the Bank's control since 2018, when Britain ceased recognizing the Venezuelan government, leading to a protracted legal dispute over ownership.

The Bank has yet to address the request, emphasizing the need for legal clarity on authority and assurance that the proceeds will be used to rebuild for the Venezuelan people rather than benefit the political elite.