Gold climbs to $4,350 as safe-haven flows ignore firm US Dollar, yields
Gold (XA/USD) surges during the North American session on Friday, up 0.30% despite rising US Treasury bond yields and of the US Dollar, which is poised to finish the week with modest gains of 0.25%. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades at $4,344 after bouncing off daily lows of $4,309.
Bullion advances late Friday despite rising US yields, steadier US Dollar
On Friday, the US economic docket is scarce, as the last 'formal' trading week of the year comes to an end, as most trading desks get off for the Christmas holidays. The Consumer Sentiment Index by the University of Michigan for December missed the mark, as people surveyed see a rise in the unemployment rate, and as buying for durable goods tumbled for the fifth straight month.
Earlier, New York Federal Reserve (Fed) President John Williams said that he doesn’t have a “sense of urgency on changing monetary policy.” Williams' posture shifted from dovish to neutral-hawkish as the Greenback recovered some ground, while Gold prices retreated to $4,320, before hitting a daily high.
In the week, Gold prices hit a weekly high of $4,374 on Thursday, but buyers remained reluctant to test the year-to-date (YTD) high of $4,381, as global bond yields rose. US Treasury yields rose as the Bank of Japan increased rates from 0.50% to 0.75% on Friday.
Next week, the US economic docket will be busy on December 23, due to a shortened week by the Christmas holidays. Traders will digest the ADP Employment Change 4-week average, growth figures for Q3 on its preliminary release, October’s Durable Goods Orders and Industrial Production prints for October and November.
Source: FXstreet.com
