Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Gold struggles for direction in holiday-thinned trade

Published 05/25/2015, 09:55 AM
Updated 05/25/2015, 09:55 AM
© Reuters. Gold futures fluctuate in holiday-thinned trade

© Reuters. Gold futures fluctuate in holiday-thinned trade

Investing.com - Gold prices swung between small gains and losses in holiday-thinned trade on Monday, as traders continued to monitor the direction of the U.S. dollar and mull the timing of a Federal Reserve rate hike.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery tacked on $1.20, or 0.1%, to trade at $1,206.10 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. Futures held in a tight range between $1,203.30 and $1,206.90.

Trading volumes were expected to remain thin with markets in the U.K., Germany and the U.S. closed for holidays.

Futures were likely to find support at $1,191.50, the low from May 13, and resistance at $1,225.50, the high from May 19.

On Friday, gold fell to $1,201.90, the weakest level since May 13, before ending at $1,204.90, down 20 cents, or 0.02%, after data showed that U.S. inflation rose for a third straight month in April and following comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.20% to 96.44 early on Monday.

The dollar strengthened broadly on Friday after data showed that U.S. core consumer prices rose 0.3% in April and were 1.8% higher on a year-over-year basis, the largest increase since October.

The greenback received an additional boost after Fed Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the bank still expected to start raising interest rates later this year if the economy continued to improve as expected.

Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.

Also on the Comex, silver futures for July delivery inched up 3.6 cents, or 0.21%, to trade at $17.08 a troy ounce. Silver closed at $17.05 on Friday, down 8.1 cents, or 0.47%.

Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for July delivery tacked on 1.0 cent, or 0.35%, to trade at $2.821 a pound. Futures touched $2.789 on Friday, the lowest level since April 30, before settling at $2.811, down 3.7 cents, or 1.32%.

Meanwhile, concerns over the prospect of a Greek default continued to dominate market sentiment. Greece’s Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis warned on Sunday that the country would be unable to make a €305 million payment to the International Monetary Fund due on June 5 if a cash-for-reforms deal with its international lenders is not reached by then.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.