Investing.com — Gold prices rose in Asian trading Friday but were tumbling from record highs in the previous session as caution ahead of a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell provided some support to the dollar.
The yellow metal raced to record highs earlier this week amid growing belief that the Fed will cut rates starting in September. Although prices fell due to some profit taking, gold still remained relatively well commanded.
rose 0.4% to $2,495.52 per ounce, while the December expiration rose 0.6% to $2,530.70 per ounce at 01:24 ET (05:24 GMT). Spot prices fell slightly this week after hitting a record high of $2,531.72 per ounce.
Powell speech available amid interest rate cut speculation
will speak later on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium, where more clues may be given about the Fed’s plans to cut rates.
Markets are broadly pricing in a September rate cut, although investors are somewhat divided between a 25 or 50 basis point cut.
Bets on a deeper rate cut were fueled by soft labor data released earlier this week that showed a sharp downward revision in payroll data for the year to March 2024.
The data showed that recent signs of a slowdown in wage growth came from a much weaker position than initially thought, raising concerns about a slowing US economy.
The prospect of slowing growth and lower interest rates bodes well for gold, given its safe-haven nature. Lower rates also come with a smaller opportunity cost of buying precious metal.
Other precious metals rose on Friday, but also posted mediocre weekly performance. rose 0.7% to $959.75 per ounce, while the price rose 0.9% to $29,290 per ounce.
Copper prices are rising, ready for a second week of gains
Among industrial metals, copper prices rose on Friday and were poised to post a second straight week of gains after seeing an extended recovery from lows earlier in August.
The benchmark on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.8% to $9,204.50 per tonne, while the index rose 0.7% in one month to $4.1655 per pound. Both contracts rose between 0.5% and 1% this week.
Copper staged a two-week recovery from August lows, helped by a mix of bargains and some improving sentiment toward top importer China.
Markets are also anticipating that lower US interest rates will help improve global copper demand.
