Gold edged up $8 to record strong weekly gains

During today’s trading, Friday, March 3 (2023), gold prices rose by around $8 as the US currency fell.

The precious metal is headed for its biggest weekly gain since mid-January; Traders are weighing the odds of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.

Gold price today

At 07:56 a.m. GMT (10:56 Mecca time), the price of gold futures contracts – for April 2023 delivery – rose 0.41%, or $7.60, to $1848.10 an ounce.

Gold prices fell for the first time in 4 consecutive sessions yesterday, Thursday, March 2, as the US currency rose.

Spot prices of the yellow metal rose 0.43% to $1843.78 an ounce.

Silver futures – for May (2023) delivery – rose 0.93% to a record $21.10 an ounce.

Spot platinum rose 0.53% to $969.79 an ounce, while spot palladium rose 0.16% to $1453.93 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the dollar index – which tracks the US currency’s performance against 6 major currencies – fell 0.25% to 104.76 points, heading for its first weekly loss since January.

Interest rates

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Rafael Bostic said Thursday that the impact of higher U.S. interest rates on the economy will begin to “take effect” in earnest this spring, adding to an argument for the central bank to stick with a “stable” quarter-point interest rate.

Raising interest rates to control high inflation discourages investors from putting money into low-yielding assets like gold.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell again last week; This has added to concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates longer.

Another report on Thursday showed that labor costs grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter.

Gold Price Analysis

Ilya Spivak, head of global macros at Tatsi Live, said US data has increased the odds of a hike in interest rates, which could be troubling for gold prices.

Money markets expect the central bank’s September target interest rate to be 5.442%.

“We see a limited rally in the US dollar, which is a drag on gold prices,” analysts at ANZ said. Reuters.

Even with higher final interest rates; The dollar is likely to weaken in the second half of 2023.

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