Gold heads for its eighth weekly gain on haven demand, despite falling from Thursday’s record high over $2950 an ounce.
The yellow metal continued to flirt with the $3,000-an-ounce psychological threshold on uncertainty over geopolitical and economic conditions. Speculation of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine – which might under some circumstances be bearish for gold – went the other way this week amid signals from U.S. President Donald Trump that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin might negotiate with each other, cutting out Ukraine and European allies.
April gold futures increased 0.7% Thursday to settle at $2,956.10 an ounce on Comex, though the most-active contract gained 1.9% this week. Bullion increased 7.3% last month after dropping 1.5% in December and losing 2.5% in November. The metal rose 27% in 2024, its biggest annual gain since 2010. The April contract is currently down $10.60 (-0.36%) an ounce to $2945.50 and the DG spot price is $2936.20.
Gold has advanced on haven demand over the past month since Trump announced new tariffs against some of the country’s trading partners and because of his stated policies on immigration, trade, the Middle East.
Separately, the minutes of last month’s Federal Reserve policy meeting showed on Wednesday that interest rate cuts are unlikely until inflation improves. High interest rates are considered bearish for gold, while low rates and rate cuts are bullish.
The Fed cut rates three times in 2024, but most investors aren’t pricing in a Fed rate reduction until June or July, according to investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool, though Fed policymakers had been widely expected to continue a series of interest rate cuts that began last year into 2025. About 97.5% expect rates to remain unchanged in March, compared with 2.5% anticipating a 25 basis point cut.
The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate at 4.25% to 4.50% last month. It was the central bank’s first policy meeting since July 2024 without a rate cut after three reductions last year. Previously, the Fed had kept rates at 5.25% to 5.50% for a year after raising them by 5.25 percentage points since March 2022 to combat inflation.
May silver futures gained 1.4% Thursday to settle at $33.81 an ounce on Comex, though the most-active contract – which rolled to May from March this week – increased 2.9%. Silver added 10% last month after dropping 6% in December and falling 5.1% in November. It gained 21% in 2024. The May contract is currently down $0.232 (-0.69%) an ounce to $33.575 and the DG spot price is $32.99.
Spot platinum increased 1.4% Thursday to $988.60 an ounce, though it’s down 0.2% this week. The current DG spot price is down $12.20 an ounce to $987.00.
Platinum gained 8.4% in January after losing 4.6% in December and declining 4.2% in November. Platinum slid 8.4% in 2024. The DG spot price is currently down $3.70 an ounce to $979.50.
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