Gold prices weaken

23 Apr 2024 , 10:27 AM

On dampened worries about the Middle East, gold prices linger at a one-week low. As concerns over a larger Middle East conflict abated, investors’ risk appetite increased and the demand for bullion as a safe haven declined.

Spot gold is down by 0.85% to $2,333.29 an ounce. American gold futures were steady at $2,346.70 an ounce.

In an apparent attempt to prevent a regional escalation, Tehran played down Israel’s counterattack drone strike against Iran.

Last week, officials, such as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, retreated from offering any forecast for the timing of interest rate reductions, stating instead that monetary policy must remain tight for an extended period of time.

Having non-yielding gold becomes less appealing when interest rates rise.

In order to learn more about the direction of monetary policy, markets are also anticipating the release later this week of the March personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data, which is the Fed’s favourite inflation indicator.

Despite the fact that rising U.S. inflation is delaying the Fed’s shift to a looser policy, members of the European Central Bank are sticking to their intentions to slash interest rates many times this year.

The world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, Nornickel, a massive Russian metals company, said that palladium output rose by 3% to 745 koz in the first quarter and is expected to reach 2,296-2,451 koz in 2024.

With tech shares rebounding, fixed-income markets remaining quiet, and geopolitical tensions abating, Asian stocks ought to be upbeat on Tuesday.

Spot silver increased by 0.4% to $27.31 per ounce, palladium decreased by 0.1% to $1,007.58, and platinum increased by 0.2% to $919.05.

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