Join our community of traders FOR FREE!

  • Learn
  • Improve yourself
  • Get Rewards
Learn More

Gold futures rose on Friday, trimming a weekly drop, as the European Union followed the United States in imposing further sanctions on the Russian Federation, which urged market players to look for safe haven assets, such as the precious metal. Also fanning positive sentiment, assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest bullion-backed ETF, rose to a three-month high on Friday.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for settlement in April rose 0.36% on Friday to settle the week at $1 335.30 an ounce. Prices shifted in a daily range between $1 343.00 an ounce and $1 329.70 an ounce.

Gold futures have retreated from a six-month high of $1 392.60 an ounce on March 17 as turmoil over Ukraine left Russia and the West involved in their worst conflict since the end of the Cold War. The precious metal slid 3.5% this week, the most in three months, snapping six week of advances.

Demand for the precious metal was heightened after the European Union added 12 names to its list of Russians and Ukrainians penalized with asset freezes and travel bans, which brought the total number to 51 Russian and Ukrainian politicians and military commanders sanctioned by the currency bloc. This decision came one day after the United States imposed sanctions on 20 Russian officials and business leaders, which were said to have links with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In addition, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s ratings agencies reduced Russia’s credit rating outlook to negative, which boosted demand for gold as a store of value.

Palladium futures at 2-1/2-year high

Meanwhile, palladium futures climbed to the strongest level in 2-1/2 years amid concern the sanctions on the largest supplier of the metal, Russia may reduce supplies.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, palladium futures for settlement in June rose 3% on Friday to settle the week at $794.90 per troy ounce. Prices shifted in a daily range between $799.90 an ounce, the strongest since August 3rd, 2011 and $768.60 an ounce.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve policy makers trimmed the bond-buying program by another $10 billion to $55 billion per month. Moreover, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, said that the first increase in borrowing costs should come “around six months” after the end of the stimulus program. The monetary easing program is expected to be brought to an end this fall.

Chinese demand

On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, trading volumes for spot bullion of 99.99 percent purity rose to a the strongest level in three weeks on March 19th. The precious metal for immediate delivery traded at a discount to bullion traded in London of $3.85 an ounce.

Higher bullion prices have recently hurt demand in China, which according to data by the World Gold Council, overtook India as the largest global consumer last year, consuming a record 1 066 tons.

Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest bullion-backed ETP, were increased to 816.97 tons on Friday, the strongest level in three months. Holdings in the fund are up 0.9% this year after it lost 41% of its assets in 2013 that wiped almost $42 billion in value. A total of 553 tons has been withdrawn last year.

TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover Forex, Price Action and Social Trading.

Related News

  • Aviva share price up, agrees to buy Friends Life in $8.8 billion dealAviva share price up, agrees to buy Friends Life in $8.8 billion deal Aviva Plc, Britains second-biggest insurance company by market value, has agreed to acquire Friends Life in an all-stock deal, marking the biggest takeover in 15 years among UK insurers.Aviva, which last month announced it was in talks […]
  • Forex Market: EUR/USD daily forecastForex Market: EUR/USD daily forecast During yesterday’s trading session EUR/USD traded within the range of 1.3598-1.3640 and closed at 1.3622.At 7:26 GMT today EUR/USD was losing 0.03% for the day to trade at 1.3616. The pair touched a daily low at 1.3605 at 6:35 […]
  • Forex Market: EUR/CAD daily trading forecastForex Market: EUR/CAD daily trading forecast Friday’s trade saw EUR/CAD within the range of 1.3507-1.3683. The pair closed at 1.3583, gaining 0.18% on a daily basis. The cross rose 1.24% for the whole week, following three consecutive weeks of losses.At 8:10 GMT today EUR/CAD was […]
  • Royal Bank of Canada share price up, reports growing sales and profitRoyal Bank of Canada share price up, reports growing sales and profit Royal Bank of Canada posted Q3 earnings today, beating estimates and logging the best results on record in its capital markets, insurance and wealth management divisions.RBC, Canadas second-largest banks by assets, logged sales of 8.98 […]
  • Gold trading outlook: futures pare overnight gains on strong dollarGold trading outlook: futures pare overnight gains on strong dollar Gold retreated from a five-week high amid an outlook for a stronger dollar and as oil prices dropped, easing inflation concerns. Silver, platinum and palladium fell as well.Comex gold for delivery in February slid 0.94% to $1 206.6 per […]
  • USD/JPY trades little changed following BoJ’s decisionUSD/JPY trades little changed following BoJ’s decision The yen traded little changed against the US dollar after two days of advances as Bank of Japans policy makers kept monetary policy steady.Having hit a session low at 103.97 at 03:45 GMT, USD/JPY erased earlier declines to trade little […]