Gold climbs on inflation news this morning. The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November rose at its fastest pace since 1982.
Per this morning’s Labor Department report, November’s inflation rose 0.8%, that’s up 6.8% from a year ago and is slightly higher than the 0.7% median forecast for the month. Excluding food and energy, the CPI increased 4.9%, in line with expectations.
The inflation figure is closely watched as an indicator of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming actions. Central bankers are widely expected to escalate the pace at which they taper stimulus measures at a policy meeting next week.
The statement Wednesday, after the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, will also be parsed for signals on when the Fed may raise interest rates to combat inflation, which would be bearish for gold. The yellow metal is a traditional hedge against inflation.
The dollar and Treasury yields were also flat early Friday, helping gold stay in a tight trading band.
February gold futures fell 0.5% Thursday to settle at $1,776.70 an ounce on Comex. Gold lost 0.4% in the first four days of this week. The precious metal has been rangebound in recent weeks, closing between $1,762.70 and $1,788.10 since Nov. 23. Gold decreased 0.4% in November after advancing 1.5% in October. The yellow metal is down 6.3% so far in 2021. Currently, the February contract is up $7.50 (+0.42) an ounce to $1,784.20 and the DG spot price is $1,780.90.
In other economic news, U.S. weekly initial jobless claims dropped to their lowest level in more than half a century last week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday, indicating that the labor market has recovered from the pandemic doldrums.
Investors were also grappling with what the omicron variant of the coronavirus will mean for the global economic recovery and whether further lockdowns that would hurt growth could become necessary. Research released this week showed that the omicron variant is more than four times more transmissive than the delta variant.
March silver futures decreased 1.9% Thursday to settle at $22.01 an ounce on Comex. The front-month contract dropped 2.1% in the first four days of this week. Silver fell 4.7% in November after rising 8.6% in October. The metal is down 17% so far this year. Silver prices are tied to industrial demand. The March contract is currently up $0.152 (+0.69%) to $22.165 and the DG spot price is $22.17.
Spot palladium retreated 2.6% Thursday to $1,826.00 an ounce and is down 0.4% so far this week. It plummeted 13% in November after rallying 4.3% in October. It’s down 26% so far in 2021. Currently, the DG spot price dropped $49.10 an ounce to $1,779.00.
Spot platinum fell 2.4% Thursday to $944.70 an ounce and is up 80 cents so far this week. The metal dropped 8.1% last month after rising 6% in October. It’s down 12% so far this year. The DG spot price is currently down $4.10 an ounce a month to $946.60.
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