Gold Steadies Amid Market Volatility

Gold prices steadied in Asian trade on Thursday, recouping some recent losses. Increased volatility in risk-driven markets, particularly stocks, kept safe havens relatively well-bid.

Copper Recovery Limited

Among industrial metals, copper prices rose on Thursday but recouped only a fraction of recent losses, with weak import data further undermining the red metal.

Broader metal markets advanced but remained mostly rangebound amid uncertainty over the global economy and interest rates.

Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,394.15 an ounce, while gold futures for December steadied at $2,433.10 an ounce by 01:25 ET (05:25 GMT).

Gold Outlook

The yellow metal remained close to the closely watched $2,400 an ounce level, and was under $100 away from record highs.

Risk-driven markets logged wild swings recently, with Wall Street settling lower despite a strong start on Wednesday, while Japanese markets flitted between gains and losses on Thursday.

This volatility kept safe havens such as gold and the Japanese yen relatively well-supported, although they experienced some weakness this week as broader markets rebounded briefly.

Gold’s outlook appeared brighter in the face of anticipated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, with markets betting that worsening economic conditions would elicit such scenarios.

Precious Metals

Other precious metals rose on Thursday, but had seen much deeper losses than gold recently. Platinum futures increased by 0.8% to $930.15 an ounce, while silver futures rose by 0.1% to $26.975 an ounce.

Copper’s Struggles

Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose slightly to $8,760.50 a ton, while one-month copper futures rose 0.4% to $3.9440 a pound.

Both contracts nursed steep losses from Wednesday, following data that showed China’s copper imports contracted for a second consecutive month in July.

This reading heightened concerns over slowing demand in the world’s biggest copper importer, especially following soft readings on Chinese business activity.