Gold prices hit record highs for a fourth consecutive session on Friday on growing speculations over June interest rate cuts ahead of key U.S. jobs data due later in the day.
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $2,168.28 per ounce as of 1057 GMT, while U.S. gold futures added 0.5% to $2,175.50.
Gold reached a new all-time high of $2,170.99 earlier in the session and has gained more than 4.1% so far this week, setting it on track to post its biggest weekly percentage increase since mid-October.
“I think a lot of the demand that we’ve seen coming from is really in the paper market. It’s just speculative demand,” said Michael Widmer, Bank of America’s head of Metals Research.
“You always had good support from Chinese buying and central bank buying. But that was never enough to take prices high.”
Gold first surpassed its December peak on Tuesday, primarily aided by growing indications of cooling price pressures and bullion’s traditional safe-haven cachet.
The focus today is on the critical U.S. non-farm payroll data set to release at 1330 GMT, which will guide market direction in the near term.
Low interest rates are gold supportive as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
The surge in gold prices could dampen consumption during the wedding season in India, but top buyer China will see robust safe-haven demand this year, analysts and traders said.
“I think an important metric for gold is the retail demand. Retail investors are waiting for the first rate cut to come to then take exposure of the market. If that happens, ETF demand will show up,” said Widmer, adding that he targets $2,400 per ounce for gold this year.
Spot silver rose 0.9% to $24.53, while platinum was up 0.1% to $920.25 per ounce, and palladium gained 1.5% to $1,048.76. All were set for weekly gains.
Source: Reuters
--Agencies
