Safe-Haven Demand Fuels Gold to a Record $2,400 High
From Newsmax
Gold bars at the West Point Mint in West Point, New York. (Kristoffer Tripplaar/AP)
Safe-haven gold prices scaled an all-time record peak Friday and was poised to post a fourth straight weekly gain as geopolitical risks and economic concerns surrounding China attracted robust demand.
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Spot gold was up 0.9% at $2,394.87 per ounce as of 0934 GMT after hitting a record high of $2,400.35 earlier in the session. Prices were up nearly 3% for the week.
U.S. gold futures gained 1.6% to $2,411.70.
There is potential for more upside in gold prices amid central bank purchases and as demand for safe-haven assets rise with growing anxiety among investors about geopolitical conflicts escalating, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.
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Doubts about “the Chinese economy feeds into worries about growth of the global economy and this also compounds the market sentiment of seeking safe-haven assets,” he added.
Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, ratcheting up tension in a region already strained by the Gaza war. This is driving up regional and global instability.
Oil rose 2% Friday and was set for a small weekly gain, as tension in the Middle East raised the risk of supply disruptions and offset the potentially bearish impact of reduced expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts this year.
Brent crude futures were up $2.19, or 2.44%, at $91.93 a barrel by 1340 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $2.42, or 2.85%, to $87.44.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s central bank said it will increase gold bar supplies to stablise the market, while China’s central bank added more gold to its reserves in March.
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Investors also kept a tab on data that showed China’s March exports and imports shrank, highlighting the tough task facing policymakers as they try to bolster a shaky economic recovery.
Thursday’s U.S. Producer Price Index(PPI) came in softer than expected, a day after March’s hot Consumer Price Index(CPI).
Spot silver rose 2.3% to $29.13 per ounce, hitting its highest levels since early 2021.
Gold’s strength appears to have filtered through to support silver prices, and industrial production figures released on Tuesday gave a further signal on industrial demand for silver, Frank Watson, market analyst at Kinesis Money, said in a note.
Platinum rose 1.8% to $997.51 and palladium edged 1.1% higher to $1,058.00. All three were on track for a weekly gain.
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