Gold regains a bit this morning on trade doubts that lingered over the U.S.-China deal, but the yellow metal is poised for an overall down week.
Questions remain about what exactly U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration had agreed to give China, despite the announcement Thursday from Beijing that the two countries had mutually agreed to roll back tariffs as part of a “phase one” trade accord, The Wall Street Journal reported. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed the advance in negotiations, telling Bloomberg that “if there’s a phase one trade deal, there are going to be tariff agreements and concessions.”
Bullion dropped 1.8% on Thursday and fell by the same percentage on Tuesday. December futures settled at $1,466.40 an ounce Thursday on Comex, the lowest close since Aug. 2. The yellow metal tumbled 3% in the first four days of the week. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.16% Thursday, Reuters reported.
Gold took out the weekly low as well as $1,475, the 100-day simple moving average and the lower end of the broad trading range it’s been in for more than a month, according to a technical analysis by FX Street published before Thursday’s drop, but it was recovering from the lows early Friday, putting it within striking distance of the 100-day SMA at about $1,476.
Gold also fell Thursday as equities strengthened on the risk-off trade. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3% Thursday to a record high.
Investors continue keeping a close eye on economic news for indications on whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for a fourth consecutive time in December. The CME FedWatch Tool showed just a 3.7% probability of another cut at the Federal Open Market Committee’s next meeting Dec. 11, while 96.3% predicted no change early Friday. The figures have shifted from a week ago, when 88.2% predicted no change and 11.8% anticipated another cut.
Silver slumped 3.3% Thursday, outpacing gold. The most-active December contract settled at $17.01 an ounce on Comex.
Spot platinum also fell 2.1% Thursday and was down 4.3% in the first four days of the week. Spot palladium was higher Friday but was down the first four days of the week.
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