Weekly Round-Up: US Jobs Data Puts Pressure on Gold

The gold price has had a strong start to the year, reaching a five-week high on Thursday following the release of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting minutes.

Despite gold’s mid-week gains, the Wall Street Journal noted the yellow metal dropped slightly on Friday on strong US jobs data. In particular, payroll data hit the gold price, and pushed the US dollar up.

Looking ahead, analysts are of the view the Federal Reserve will continue with its plans to raise interest rates this year. Still–overall, the gold price was up 1.80 percent over the week. As of 11:52 a.m. EST on Friday, the precious metal was $1,171.60 per ounce.

In silver price news, the white metal has had a similar week to its sister metal. By Wednesday, the silver price made a significant increase from $15.90 per ounce to $16.40. That said, on Friday the Economic Calendar reported a stronger US dollar put pressure on the silver price together with a big sell order from Asia.

As of 12:25 p.m EST Friday, the silver price was $16.41 per ounce–a 2.93 percent increase over the week.

In the base metals sector, the copper price had a sharp start to the week. By Wednesday, the red metal had increased from $2.49 per pound to $2.55.

On Thursday, Fast Markets reported copper dropped off from its two-week high following the US jobs data release. By Friday at 12:40 p.m. EST, the copper price was $2.51 per pound–a slight 0.51 percent increase over the week.

Lastly, spot oil prices steadily gained over the week, and were on pace to post its fourth consecutive weekly gains.

According to MarketWatch, Tyler Richey, co-editor for the 7:00’s Report said members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries “continue to do a good job of talking up prices.”

By Friday at 12:50 p.m. EST, oil prices were $54.06.

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

By Jocelyn Aspa, December 30, 2016

For the first time in awhile, the gold prices, were on the rise as the US dollar cooled off late in the week.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal  reported the yellow metal’s price surge was its biggest gain in almost three months. That said, as the year comes to a close, gold is poised to close 2016 nine percent higher after posting steady declines for the three previous years, according to Reuters.

As of 12:07 p.m. EST, the yellow metal had gained 1.98 percent over the five day period to reach $1,155.95 per ounce. For comparison, the yellow metal closed 2015 at $1,061.00 per ounce.

Moving into 2017, Peter Fertig, owner of Quantitative Commodity Research, told Reuters there could be some weakness in the gold price as a result of projected interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

“On the other hand, though, uncertainty about political alliances between U.S. President-elect Trump and international players could create some geopolitical fractures, which would be positive for gold,” he said.

Looking over to the silver price, the white metal saw an increase for much of the week, rising to $16.18 per ounce on Thursday. On Friday, the Economic Calendar reported silver prices are on pace for its fourth straight increase with the help of a weaker US dollar.

Over the five-day period, the white metal notched a 1.10 percent gain. As of 12:21 p.m. EST on Friday, the silver price had dropped off slightly to $15.90 per ounce. That said, the white metal has gained 10.59 percent since last December. Looking ahead to the new year, some projections indicate silver could rise 20 percent in 2017.

On the base metals side, the copper price was flat for most of the week at $2.48 per pound, until Thursday when it spiked to $2.49 per pound.

Early Friday, Reuters reported that the red metal is on pace for a 17 percent gain–its first annual increase in four years. As of 12:30 p.m. EST on Friday, the copper price was $2.50 per pound–a 17.96 percent increase from December 2015.

Lastly, spot oil prices were largely on the rise last week, spiking as high as $54.16 per barrel on Thursday. That said, the price cooled off by Friday, dropping to $53.63 per barrel as of 12:40 p.m. EST. Still–the oil price has gained 45.61 percent since December 2015, and is on track to make its biggest yearly gain in seven years, according to Reuters.

However, the oil price is down nearly half its price since summer 2014, when it was over $100 per barrel, the publication noted. On that note, a Reuters poll showed the oil price could reach $60 per barrel in 2017 as a result of a strong US dollar and a possible recovery in US oil output.

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. 

Related reading:

Weekly Round-Up: Metals Fall Ahead of the Holidays

Weekly Round-Up: Gold Drops on Surging US Dollar

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