Weekly Round-Up: Metals Fall Ahead of the Holidays

It’s been another tough week for the gold prices, as the yellow metal was on track for a seventh straight weekly decline, the longest run of weekly losses in 12 years.

While the metal gained on Friday, the decline was supported by expectations that the US Federal Reserve will rise rates three times in 2017 and a strong US dollar, that jumped to a 14-year high earlier this week.

“Gold is on the defensive but we sense support in the market between $1,120-1,100 and believe these levels will hold barring a significant dollar rally,” HSBC analyst James Steel told Reuters.

As of 11:54 a.m. EST on Friday, the gold price was $1,132.76.

Looking over to the silver price, the white metal edged lower in futures trading on Friday, as market activity remained low ahead of the holidays. The Economic Calendar reported that the silver price was on track for a 2.5 percent decline and that the precious metal has declined more than 8 percent since the Federal Reserve’s decision.

As of 11:54 a.m. EST on Friday, the white metal was $15.74 per ounce.

Platinum was steady at $903.49 and palladium fell 0.2 percent to $653.35. Platinum has lost over 2 percent, while palladium has dropped over 6 percent so far this week.

On the base metals side, the copper price fell as much as 3 percent to a four-week low on Monday as inventories showed their biggest one-day rise in 15 years.

But on Friday investors took profits on long positions ahead of the Christmas break as growing doubts about demand growth in top consumer China reinforced the idea that recent gains were overdone.

By 11:54 a.m. EST, the copper price was $2.47 per pound.

Lead and zinc tumbled more than 5 percent on bets that earlier gains had become overstretched, Reuters reported.

Lastly, spot oil prices slipped below $55 a barrel on Friday as a stronger US dollar weighed on commodities and as higher Libyan output threatened to counter some of the supply cuts agreed by OPEC and other producers, Economic Times reported.

By Friday, the oil price had made a slight recovery, rising to $55.17 per barrel as of 11:45 a.m. EST.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. 

This article is updated each week. Please scroll to the top for the most recent information.

It’s been a tough week for the gold prices, particularly following the announcement that the Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in 2016, with three more increases anticipated for 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported.

On Friday, the Economic Calendar noted the yellow metal plunged to a 10-month low of $1,124.30 per ounce on Thursday as a result of the announcement.

That being said, the Bullion Desk reported Friday that the precious metal was showing signs of a recovery after investors have had time to digest the rate increase.

“We are still in the initial aftermath of the FOMC announcement and prices are adjusting to the more hawkish outlook that the Fed portrayed, but given how telegraphed the decision was and all the geopolitical uncertainty that 2017 will bring, we would be on the lookout for gold buying as investors take out some insurance against a possible correction in other over-stretched markets,” Metal Bulletin analyst William Adams told the publication.

As of 1:06 p.m. EST on Friday, the gold price was $1,137.40–a 1.78 percent loss over the five-day period.

Looking over to the silver price, the white metal also suffered as a result of the Federal Reserve’s rate increase. The Economic Calendar reported on Thursday that the silver price dropped more than five percent following Wednesday’s announcement–dropping to $15.89 an ounce.

That being said, the silver price appeared to make a slight recovery on Friday. As of 1:12 p.m. EST, the white metal was $16.20 per ounce.

On the base metals side, the copper price was steady for most of the week–with a high of $2.60 per pound on Thursday–but nose-dived quickly on Friday.

Fast Markets noted on Friday that the red metal dropped as a result of a strong US dollar. By 1:20 p.m. EST, the copper price was $2.55 per pound–a 2.01 percent loss over the week.

Lastly, spot oil prices also dropped off significantly over the five-day period, tumbling to $50.12 per barrel on Thursday.  That being said, CNBC reported on Friday that Goldman Sachs revised its oil price outlook to $57.50 per barrel in the second quarter of 2017–an increase from its previous projection of $55 per barrel.

By Friday, the oil price had made a slight recovery, rising to $51.75 per barrel as of 1:30 p.m. EST.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates.

Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. 

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Weekly Round-Up: Gold Drops on Surging US Dollar

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