Gold climbs back after slipping early Monday when the dollar rose to near six-month highs. The yellow metals’s bounce back driven by growing hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut rates again next month and an ebbing dollar.
Investors hopeful of another rate cut in December got a boost Friday with remarks from New York Fed President John Williams, who said a near-term rate cut remains a possibility.
Front-month gold futures rose 0.5% last week to settle at $4,116.00 an ounce on Comex after the most-active contract rolled to February from December. The February contract gained 0.5% Friday. Bullion increased 3.2% last month after surging 10% in September, the most in six months, and adding 5% in August. It’s up 56% this year. The metal rose 27% in 2024, its biggest annual gain since 2010. The February contract is currently down $3.00 (-0.07%) an ounce to $4113.00 and the DG spot price is $4086.30.
U.S. financial markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
U.S. consumer sentiment fell to near the lowest level on record in University of Michigan data for November, which came out Friday. The survey’s director said in a statement that “consumers remain frustrated about the persistence of high prices and weakening incomes.”
The Fed has said it closely watches both the labor market and inflation when setting monetary policy. Delayed inflation data for September – the U.S. producer price index – is due out Tuesday and may provide some further direction. The private payrolls report from ADP is due out next week with November figures.
A significant amount of government data on inflation and the labor market was either delayed or won’t be released because of the U.S. government shutdown which ended earlier this month.
Almost 79% of the investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool are betting that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in December, while the rest expect rates to stay unchanged. That’s a switch from a week ago, when most investors were anticipating rates holding.
October’s interest rate reduction to 3.75% to 4.00% was the second 25-basis point reduction in a row. The central bank began raising interest rates in March 2022 to fight inflation, ultimately imposing increases of by 5.25 percentage points before beginning rate cuts last year.
March silver futures decreased 0.3% last week to settle at $50.56 an ounce on Comex after dropping 0.8% Friday. Silver rose 3.3% in October after adding 15% in September, the biggest monthly rally in two and a half years, and climbing 11% in August. It’s up 73% this year after rising 21% in 2024. The March contract is currently up $0.141 (-0.28%) an ounce to $50.415 and the DG spot price is $50.30.
Spot palladium lost 1.6% last week to $1,387.50 an ounce after falling 0.5% Friday. Palladium rose 14% last month after rising 14% in September and declining 7.8% in August. Palladium is up 49% this year after dropping 17% in 2024. Currently, the DG spot price is up $22.20 an ounce to $1406.00.
Spot platinum declined 2.3% last week to $1,523.60 an ounce but edged up 0.1% Friday. It advanced 1% in October after gaining 15% in September and rising 5.9% in August. Platinum is up 67% in 2025 after losing 8.4% in 2024. The DG spot price is currently up $24.20 an ounce to $1543.40.
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