14 Jun 2019
MUMBAI/BENGALURU Physical gold discounts in India widened to their biggest in five months this week as an upsurge in local prices dampened purchases, while China and Singapore saw demand rise from investors looking to hedge against a global slowdown.
14 Jun 2019
* Premiums in China rise to $10-$12.50/oz vs $7-$10 last
week
14 Jun 2019
* China May industrial output growth weakest in 17 years
(Updates prices, adds comments and details)
12 Jun 2019
* GRAPHIC - 2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
(Updates prices)
10 Jun 2019
(Corrects final paragraph of June 7 story to say palladium prices were trading around $1,362.39 an ounce, not $801.50)
10 Jun 2019
(Corrects final paragraph of June 7 story to say palladium
prices were trading around $1,362.39 an ounce, not $801.50)
* Gold up 2.5% so far this week
* U.S. job growth slowed sharply in May
* Dollar plummets to 2-1/2-month low
* Platinum on track for first weekly gain in 7 weeks
By Arijit Bose
June 7 Gold prices jumped 1% on Friday to their
highest levels since April 2018 as a sharp slowdown in U.S. jobs
growth sent the dollar lower on growing expectations that the
Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this year.
Gold also has benefited from concerns that U.S. trade wars
with Mexico and China will slow the global economy. The precious
metal is up more than 2.5% so far this week.
Spot gold was 0.4% higher at $1,339.97 per ounce at
2:34 p.m. EDT (1834 GMT), having earlier hit its intra-day high
of $1,348.08.
U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3% at $1,346.10 an
ounce.
The U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that job growth
slowed sharply in May and wages rose less than expected.
"The U.S. jobs number was weaker than expected and that
rallied the gold market. That gives the bulls more technical
momentum," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.
Chances "have significantly increased that the U.S. Federal
Reserve is going to lower interest rates sooner rather than
later and that is also working in favor of the precious metals
bulls," Wyckoff said.
Traders of U.S. short-term interest rate futures added to
bets that the Fed will start to cut rates as soon as July and
reduce them two more times before the end of the year.
Lower interest rates boost gold by reducing the opportunity
cost of holding the metal and by weakening the dollar, which
skidded to its lowest in 2-1/2 months after the U.S. jobs data.
The United States granted Chinese exporters two more weeks
to get their products into the U.S. before increasing tariffs on
those items, according to a U.S. government notice posted
online.
"On China side this going to be a protracted trade war ...
The resulting loss of economic momentum could push more investor
allocations into gold and that would be the primary factor
driving prices north of $1,350 (in the medium term)," said
Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.
President Donald Trump said on Friday there was a "good
chance" that the United States would be able to reach a deal
with Mexico over a surge of migrants on their border, although
his administration was still pushing ahead with a plan to slap
import tariffs on all Mexican goods next week.
Silver gained 1.1% to $15.01 per ounce, on track for
its biggest weekly increase since late December.
Platinum dipped 0.2% to $801.50 an ounce, but was
headed for its first weekly gain in seven weeks.
Palladium was up 0.8% at around $1,362.39 an ounce.
(Reporting by Arijit Bose and Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru;
Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Bill Trott)
10 Jun 2019
* Speculators raised net longs in gold in week to June
4-CFTC
07 Jun 2019
* Gold up 2.3% so far this week
* U.S. jobs data due at 1230 GMT
* Platinum on track for first weekly gain in 7 weeks
* Silver set to post biggest weekly rise in over 4 months
(Updates prices)
By Arijit Bose
June 7 Gold prices steadied on Friday, but
remained on course for their biggest weekly gain since March
2018, after rising expectations for a U.S. rate cut and concerns
over trade tussles boosted demand for safe-haven bullion.
However, having failed earlier this week to breach its 2019
high of $1,346.73, analysts expect the metal to consolidate
until there is fresh impetus.
Spot gold was steady at $1,335.35 per ounce at 1153
GMT, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at
$1,339.60.
"We have had quite a move higher earlier this week, but we
are moving towards levels where the market will struggle to go
much higher," ING analyst Warren Patterson said.
Gold has rallied in a short span of time, having gained
about 2.3% this week.
"Overall sentiment is still fairly supportive for the gold
market," Patterson added, attributing the recent rally to a
two-pronged U.S. trade spat with Mexico and China, and hopes for
an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The United States and Mexico concluded their second day of
talks on trade and migration on Thursday and markets rebounded
on optimism a deal could be close. However, it remains unclear
whether Mexican pledges to curb migration flows will be enough
to persuade Washington to postpone tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would decide whether to
carry out his threat to hit Beijing with tariffs on at least
$300 billion in Chinese goods after a meeting of leaders of the
world's largest economies late this month.
Gold's appeal as a safe-haven investment is bolstered in
times of geopolitical uncertainty.
"Gold is likely to stay muted through the rest of the day
before the release of the non-farm payrolls. Investors want to
see the impact on the U.S. jobs market before reassessing the
current pessimism," Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank, said.
U.S. non-farm payrolls data at 1230 GMT will provide clues
on the trajectory of interest rates.
Meanwhile, New York Fed President John Williams on Thursday
acknowledged the impact of trade and global growth concerns on
business investment, but said he was keeping an open mind on
interest rates.
Among other metals, silver rose 0.4% to $14.91 per
ounce, on track for its biggest weekly increase since late
January.
Platinum edged 0.2% lower to $801.40 an ounce. The
metal was still headed for its first weekly gain in seven.
Palladium dipped 0.2% to $1,348.65 an ounce.
(Reporting by Arijit Bose in Bengaluru
Editing by Mark Potter and Dale Hudson)
06 Jun 2019
* Gold may consolidate after a strong run in a short time
-analyst
06 Jun 2019
* Inactive gold players getting involved again - UBS
(Updates prices)