Gold Steady With Investors Weighing War and Rising Inflation
2022.04.19 06:25
Gold Steady With Investors Weighing War and Rising Inflation
(Bloomberg) — Gold pared early gains as investors assessed the war in Europe, elevated inflation and the risk of a U.S. recession.
The precious metal earlier climbed as much as 1% after capping a second weekly gain, following increases in oil and natural gas. The possibility of a de facto European Union embargo on Russian gas and the threat of some curbs on crude in Europe’s next sanctions package have bolstered both commodities. That’s adding to already elevated raw material prices, fueling demand for gold as a hedge against accelerating inflation.
In Ukraine, the remaining defenders of Mariupol are encircled by Russian forces though haven’t surrendered the strategically important eastern port city, with troops still holding out at the giant Azovstal steelworks, Ukrainian officials said. A deadly strike was reported in Lviv near the Polish border, while air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv for a second day.
Bullion’s resilience comes even as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield inched higher with investors looking to speeches by Federal Reserve policy makers for new clues on whether it will raise interest rates by a half point in May.
“Gold is being reinforced by elevated inflation and heightened geopolitical risk,” said Kelvin Wong, an analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore. Prices rising above the key medium-term technical resistance level of $1,975 is “likely to have attracted momentum-based traders back into the bullish camp,” he said.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,978.91 an ounce at 5 p.m. in New York, after earlier touching the highest intraday level since March 11. Bullion for June delivery gained 0.6% to settle at $1,986.40 on the Comex. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.3%. Palladium, platinum and silver all advanced.
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