ALBAWABA – Gold prices are holding steady near the Friday closing level over the weekend, just above the $2,000 threshold, as the US dollar fell and stocks worldwide were mostly up.
Inflation data fueling anticipation that the United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut rates in 2024 drove a rally on Wall Street, which has aided in the divergence of capital.
Money flowed out from under the greenback and into the stock market, as the US dollar fell to its lowest since July, set to close the year on a decline for the first time in three years, Bloomberg reported.
Gold prices broke over $2,050 over the weekend and closed at $2,053 on Friday, Reuters reported, up more than 1 percent, according to GoldPrice.org.
As of Sunday 1647 Amman Time, gold prices stood at $2,52.99 per ounce, just a fraction below Friday’s close in the green.
Gold futures contracts, COMEX 100oz, expiring on December 27 stood at $2,053.20, according to Reuters, $14.10 higher, or 0.69 percent.
Stocks worldwide up, gold prices steady - Shutterstock
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose a scant 0.2 percent Friday as a slump in Apple Inc.’s shares weighed on equities gauges, further bolstering safe haven commodities like gold.
The Nasdaq also nudged up 0.1 percent, after setting record highs earlier in the week, and the Dow Jones was last reported down 0.05 percent by Reuters.
Europe’s STOXX stood at 477.60, up 0.14 percent and London’s FTSE also traded up 0.04 percent, at 7,697.51, as per Reuter’s website, along with Japan’s NIKKEI 225 and the NYSE Composite.
Notably, stocks were initially buoyed by Friday data showing the Federal Reserve’s preferred underlying inflation metric barely rose in November.
Likewise, lower inflation means lower interest rates, which weakens the US dollar and drives demand for both gold and stocks.
Global bonds were primed for another win as of Thursday, according to Bloomberg, though Treasuries were mixed in Friday trading with the yield on the US 10-year bond hovering around 3.9 percent.
