Gold steadies, heads for third straight weekly gain
Gold held steady on Friday but was on track for a third straight weekly gain , buoyed by a weaker dollar and US Treasury Department efforts to hold down longer-term yields. Spot gold was little changed at $4,514.23 per ounce, as of 0031 GMT, after hitting its highest level since early June in the previous session. Prices were up 3.2% for the week. US gold futures steadied at $4,571.20. The US…
Gold steadied on Friday but showed signs of a third consecutive weekly increase, propelled by a weaker dollar and US Treasury Department initiatives to keep longer-term yields in check. Spot gold hovered around $4,514.23 per ounce, as of 0031 GMT, after reaching its highest level since early June in the previous session. Prices climbed 3.2% for the week.
US gold futures remained steady at $4,571.20. The US dollar was projected to experience a weekly decline, making dollar-priced commodities less expensive for holders of other currencies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at a potential further surge in the government’s purchases of Treasuries. The Treasury introduced an expansion of buybacks on longer-dated securities, doubling the size of operations to at least $4 billion per transaction over the upcoming quarter.
Two Federal Reserve officials expressed reservations regarding the Treasury Department’s debt management changes and their potential impact on the US central bank’s monetary policy decisions. Reports indicated that the count of Americans submitting claims for unemployment benefits declined the prior week, indicating a stable job market despite a surprising decline in employment in July, leaving the Fed with the option to maintain its attention on curbing inflation.
The market priced in a 64% probability of the Fed maintaining rates steady in September and a 36% likelihood of an increase, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. While gold is viewed as a safeguard against turmoil and inflation, escalating interest rates diminish its allure as a non-yielding asset. On the geopolitical front, Bessent announced that the United States would impose "the harshest sanctions in history" on Iran, a step he believed would reduce the necessity for new significant military maneuvers.
Silver remained flat at $68.03 per ounce, while platinum climbed 1.1% to $1,846.29 and palladium stayed at $1,333.11. All three precious metals were poised for weekly gains.
Written by urgent.news from Business Recorder's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
