Precious Metals Stable Slightly Above Yesterday’s Lows

Gold prices edged higher on Friday as the dollar slipped against major peers ahead of U.S. economic growth data that could shed light on the pace of rate hikes in the world’s top economy. However this climb is still very near to yesterday’s lows. Spot gold XAUUSD hit yesterday’s low at $1222.30, the pair saw slight recovery post dollar’s slip against major peers in early Asian market hours and is currently trading at $1224.13 with 0.12% increase in value. The precious metal is however on track for its third straight weekly decline. U.S. gold futures for august delivery were 0.18% lower at $1,223.40 an ounce. The dollar index DXY which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies is down 0.08% at 94.713. A weaker dollar makes greenback-denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies but a relatively strong greenback versus the Yuan is limiting upside for gold as China remains as the largest investors of Gold outside of US.  There are concerns about rising U.S. interest rates and the (U.S.-China) trade war, which are also affecting gold for the time being, meanwhile a strong reading in second-quarter U.S. economic growth could back the case for faster rate hikes. U.S. rates tend to boost the dollar and push bond yields up, denting the bullion’s non-interest bearing appeal.

Silver remains nearly flat and well inside the wider price band of $15.80 to $15.25 and is expected to close for the week inside the mentioned price levels. XAGUSD is currently trading at $15.462 with 0.51% increase in value. Though we would argue that markets have relatively priced in on greenback vigor and current-term economic data, the precious metal looks poised to erode further as geopolitical uncertainties from the EU and US rescind gently.

Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Friday after an earlier spike on the back of supply halts in Saudi Arabia and US stock draws gave way to mild profit-taking in the wait for fresh fundamental drivers to provide price direction. At 10:20 am Singapore time (0220 GMT), ICE September Brent crude futures were down 0.36% from Thursday’s settle at $74.27/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was 0.14% lower at $69.51/b. Crude Oil prices edged down on Friday after three days of gains, but were still supported by Saudi Arabia’s halt on transporting crude through a key shipping lane, falling US inventories and easing trade tensions between Washington and Europe. For the moment, Saudi Arabia has said it can use a pipeline to transport crude from its nearby fields on the Red Sea. However the event highlights the geopolitical issues that are still bubbling away under the surface. As of writing this article WTIUSD is trading at $70.58 with 0.10% decrease in value.