Gold Prices Rise Amid Weekly Losses

Gold prices experienced a rise during Asian trading on Friday but continued to face significant weekly losses as traders show a strong preference for the dollar ahead of upcoming interest rate cues.

The yellow metal previously hit record highs in July; however, profit-taking and market volatility have led to a notable decline in prices.

Spot gold increased by 0.3% to $2,371.23 per ounce, while August gold futures rose by 0.7% to $2,369.90 per ounce as of 00:43 ET (04:43 GMT).

Weekly Losses with PCE Data Ahead

This week, spot gold is down 1.2%, following a significant drop on Thursday due to unexpectedly strong second-quarter GDP data from the U.S. This reading heightened hopes for a soft landing for the U.S. economy, which may reduce the safe-haven demand for gold.

Despite this, traders largely believe in a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September, particularly with upcoming data on the PCE price index— the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. This data is anticipated to show a mild decrease in inflation for June.

The Fed is expected to maintain steady rates in their upcoming meeting, with indications of a possible cut in September, which would favor gold and precious metals as lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of investing in non-yielding assets.

Additionally, with the U.S. presidential race becoming heated, gold may attract more safe-haven demand, highlighted by recent polls showing a close contest between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Kamala Harris.

Precious Metals Movement

Other precious metals had mixed movements on Friday, yet they also showed significant losses for the week. Platinum futures climbed by 0.4% to $948.00 per ounce, while silver futures fell by 0.3% to $27.890 per ounce. For the week, platinum is down 2.7%, and silver is facing nearly a 5% slump.

Copper Prices and Demand

In the industrial metals category, copper steadied on Friday but is set for its third consecutive week of losses due to ongoing concerns about weak demand, particularly from China, the top importer of copper. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange held steady at $9,123.50 per tonne, while one-month copper futures rose by 0.2% to $4.1250 per pound. Both contracts saw declines of 2% and 2.6% for the week, respectively.

The strong U.S. GDP figures provided some relief for copper, alongside unexpected interest rate cuts in China, which helped mitigate copper’s decline.