Gold Holds Near Record With Tight Election, US Data in Focus
Gold steadied ahead of several US data prints due later Thursday, while the presidential race that’s less than three weeks away continues to drive demand for haven assets.
Bullion was little changed near $2,675 an ounce, just shy of its all-time high reached last month, after climbing 1% over the previous two sessions as investors reposition their portfolios ahead of a tight US election. With both candidates posing different kinds of risks to the economy, gold will likely see further support — no matter whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris win the presidency.
Traders are now shifting focus to incoming US retail sales and jobless figures for further clues on the pace of Federal Reserve easing this year. Initial unemployment claims likely remained elevated in the week ended Oct. 12, while consumer spending probably grew moderately in September, according to Bloomberg Economics. Lower rates tend to benefit non-interest bearing bullion.
The precious metal — up nearly 30% so far this year — is one of the strongest performing commodities in 2024. Rate-cut optimism has fueled the most recent gains as the Fed kicked off its easing cycle last month, though traders have in recent weeks pared expectations on the size and scope of this year’s rate cuts following mixed reports on the US economy. Strong central bank purchases and heightened geopolitical tensions have also supported gold.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,674.10 an ounce as of 7:18 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat, following three consecutive gains. Silver, platinum and palladium were all steady.
Source : Bloomberg
