Commodities and Futures News

Gold prices steady after strong November gains, Powell in focus

2023.12.01 02:21


© Reuters.

Investing.com– Gold prices steadied near a seven-month high on Friday, pausing their recent rally amid anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day. 

A swathe of middling purchasing managers index (PMI) readings from across Asia also kept safe haven demand for the yellow metal largely elevated, amid growing concerns over a looming economic slowdown.

Gold was sitting on strong gains in November, as markets grew convinced that the Federal Reserve will , and will begin trimming rates in 2024. But the timing of the potential interest rate cuts remained a key point of uncertainty for markets.

rose 0.3% to $2,041.35 an ounce, while expiring in December rose 0.2% to $2,041.30 an ounce by 00:57 ET (05:57 GMT). Both instruments clocked strong gains in November, with spot prices less than $40 away from a record high.

Powell set to offer more cues before December Fed meeting 

Powell is set to speak at two separate events later on Friday. While the Fed Chair has largely maintained his stance that rates will remain higher for longer, markets were looking for any changes in his stance after dovish cues from a string of Fed officials earlier this week. 

They also acknowledged that U.S. inflation had fallen substantially in recent months, and that further declines in inflation were likely to invite early interest rate cuts by the central bank. 

But while U.S. inflation eased in recent months, it still remained well above the Fed’s 2% annual target. This was seen in data released on Thursday, which in part contributed to the rebound. 

Powell’s comments will be the Fed Chair’s final word before a two-week blackout period in anticipation of a mid-December . The central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold. 

Copper prices steady after strong November

Among industrial metals, copper prices steadied on Friday after clocking strong gains in November, amid some improving economic trends in China and expectations of tighter supplies.

expiring March were flat at $3.8515 a pound, after rallying 5.5% in November. 

A private survey showed on Friday that China’s unexpectedly grew in November. But the reading contrasted with a earlier this week, which showed the sector remaining in contraction. The readings offered mixed cues on the world’s largest copper importer, which is struggling with a sluggish economic recovery this year.

On the supply front, however, mine closures in Peru and Panama are set to tighten copper markets in the coming months.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 95,103.48 1.54%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,446.51 3.39%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.06%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 239.65 4.25%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 641.89 2.04%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.46 5.20%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.400458 4.85%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999701 0.14%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.993078 0.24%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,451.96 3.57%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.197318 4.25%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 41.44 2.86%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 6.08 0.12%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.5075 3.57%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000026 1.79%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 4,084.81 3.68%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 94,863.42 1.42%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 8.44 0.88%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 17.77 4.06%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,448.45 3.58%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 501.61 0.62%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 3.16 5.78%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000019 3.36%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 6.56 0.22%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 8.32 1.01%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 94.58 1.97%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 11.43 8.43%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,630.38 3.58%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 11.97 0.91%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 11.67 5.37%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.11%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.136076 4.79%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.183143 1.82%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 31.01 10.56%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.565912 3.75%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.67 0.84%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.11%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 524.57 3.10%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.149707 0.61%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.43 2.97%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.909085 9.23%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999208 0.15%
celestia
Celestia (TIA) $ 8.09 0.05%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 23.96 1.30%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.60 1.82%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.04143 0.66%
bonk
Bonk (BONK) $ 0.000044 4.40%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 53.62 0.52%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 2.14 8.14%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 3.17 1.63%