Image credit: Getty Images
Gold prices held steady on Friday, poised for a seventh consecutive weekly rise, as expectations of further US interest rate cuts and concerns over the economic impact of a prolonged government shutdown lent support.
Spot gold rose 0.03 per cent to $3,857.25 per ounce by 0921 GMT, after hitting a record high of $3,896.49 on Thursday. The bullion has gained 2.6 per cent so far this week.
US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.32 per cent to $3,880.50 per ounce.
The prolonged US government shutdown, now in its third day as of Friday, has delayed key economic data, including the non-farm payrolls report scheduled for release on Friday.
Alternate data from public and private sources, showed the US job market likely remained stalled in September with sluggish hiring and no change in unemployment rates.
The data suggests Fed should cut rates, “and as we anticipate further rate cuts, this should support the gold price further over the coming months, looking for the yellow metal to breach the $4,000/oz mark by the end of this year,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
Investors are pricing in a 97 per cent probability of a 25-basis-point rate reduction in October and an 88 per cent likelihood of another similar cut in December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said the Fed appropriately took out some insurance against any sharp deterioration in the labour market with its rate cut last month, but needed to be “cautious”.
Gold, often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty, thrives in a low-interest-rate environment. Bullion has risen 47 per cent so far this year.
Meanwhile, physical gold demand in India rose this week despite record high prices, while Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.
