Gold Under Pressure While Dollar and Oil Strengthen
Gold prices were flat on Friday (April 24) but remained on track for a weekly decline, amid rising oil prices and limited US dollar strength that altered market calculations regarding inflation risks and the interest rate outlook.
At 5:11 a.m. ET (9:11 a.m. GMT), spot gold was relatively unchanged at US$4,692.41/oz, while gold futures fell 0.4% to US$4,707.09/oz. For the week, spot gold fell 2.9% and gold futures fell 3.5%.
The pressure comes as oil prices rise amid growing uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict after peace talks stalled. The oil rally has rekindled concerns about a surge in energy-driven inflation that could reinforce the narrative of prolonged high interest rates, a situation that tends to be unsupportive of non-yielding assets like gold. At the same time, the US dollar recorded a slight bid throughout the week, potentially reducing the attractiveness of dollar-denominated gold for foreign buyers, although the dollar index against a basket of major currencies was reported to have moved relatively flat in the last session.
Weakness was also seen in other precious metals: spot silver fell 0.8% to US$74.8895/oz and spot platinum fell 1.3% to US$1,985.06/oz.
The market's next focus will be on developments in the next phase of the conflict in the Middle East, the future direction of oil prices, and how the combination of inflation and dollar movements will shape near-term interest rate expectations. (asd)*
Source: Newsmaker.id
