Gold prices tipped higher Thursday as a leading dollar index slumped and stock futures pointed to a pullback after the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s best performance on Wednesday in eight months.
Gold for December delivery
GCZ8, +0.16%
rose $3.40, or 0.3%, to $1,227 an ounce. Gold for February delivery
GCG9, +0.17%
which has higher open-interest volume, added $3.20, or 0.3%, to $1,233 an ounce.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY, -0.07%
fell by 0.1% to 96.77. A weaker dollar typically raises investment demand for dollar-priced commodities, including gold, and vice versa.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower start for major benchmarks on Thursday, one day after Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s dovishly interpreted speech sparked a market rally, the likes of which have not been seen since March, and as investors turn their focus to other macro headwinds, like a rising dollar, slumping oil prices and slowing global growth.
As for related exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Shares
GLD, +0.37%
and the iShares Silver Trust
SLV, +1.05%
were up modestly. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF
GDX, +2.49%
added 0.8%.
The market-focused action follows a mixed session for gold on Wednesday, when it ultimately got a boost as the U.S. dollar declined after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared to imply fewer interest-rate increases ahead.
Powell told the Economic Club of New York Wednesday that “interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy.” His comments appear more dovish than in early October when he said interest rates were a long way from neutral.
Read: Trump again lashes out at Powell, says he’s ‘not even a little bit happy’ about naming him Fed chief
Meanwhile, March silver
SIH9, -0.42%
fell 7 cents, or nearly 0.5%, to $14.385 an ounce.
March copper
HGH9, -0.44%
fell 0.4% to $2.803 a pound. January platinum
PLF9, -0.08%
was steady near $826.30 an ounce. March palladium
PAH9, -0.75%
pulled back slightly. On Wednesday, it rose 2.7% to $1,151.90 an ounce, settling close to the $1,154.60 record for a most-active contract reached in mid-November.
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Source : MTV
