Gold prices end higher as traders take cues from a dollar rally and a global, tech-led stock selloff
Gold futures reversed course to finish at their highest in nearly a week on Tuesday, with the haven metal finding support as global stocks sank and as the U.S. dollar eased back a bit from its earlier highs.
Continued U.S.-China tension, the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, the pandemic, and “currency dislocation are adding to reasons for gold buyers to add on bigger dips” in prices, said George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management, in a daily note.
President Donald Trump on Monday said he intends to “end reliance on China once and for all, whether it’s decoupling or putting in massive tariffs like I’ve been doing already.”
Gero said he continues to expect silver to eventually climb to $30 an ounce and for gold to climb back to $2,000 “as more sellers rush to cash.”
December gold GCZ20, -0.35% GC00, -0.35% rose $8.90, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,943.20 an ounce, after trading as low as $1,911.70. Prices for the most-active contract, which saw a 2.1% decline last week, marked its highest finish since Sept. 2, according to FactSet data.
Metals traded on Comex didn’t post settlement prices on Monday due to the Labor Day holiday being observed in the U.S.
December silver SIZ20, -0.58% SI00, -0.58%, meanwhile, added 28 cents, or 1%, at $26.991 an ounce, after touching an earlier low at $25.985.
Prices for the metal had traded lower in early dealings, as concerns about lofty valuations for highflying, technology-related stocks, which had led the rally in equities amid the COVID-19 pandemic, dragged most benchmark global stock market indexes lower. That may have prompted some investors to sell gold to cover losses in other assets.
The downturn for stocks and geopolitical concerns may have also contributed to a rush to dollars, which had put earlier pressure on bullion.
U.S. stocks declined Tuesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -4.11% down over 2%, and stocks in Europe SXXP, -1.14% also fell.
The dollar gained 0.7% to 93.36 on Tuesday, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, 0.04%, a measure of the buck against a half-dozen currencies, though the index was down from the day’s high of 93.48.
A rising dollar can make commodities priced in the currency more expensive for overseas investors.
The ‘long term trend of higher gold and silver is still solid after period of profit taking.’
— Jeff Wright, GoldMining Inc.
This is “a light week for economic news so people will focus on [the] U.S. dollar or indications stimulus talks resume for catalysts for gold in short term,” said Jeff Wright, executive vice president of GoldMining Inc. The “long term trend of higher gold and silver is still solid after period of profit taking.”
Also on Comex Tuesday, the most-active December copper contract HGZ20, 0.13% shed 1.2% to $3.025 a pound. October platinum PLV20, -0.64% tacked on nearly 1.4% to $910.30 an ounce, but December palladium PAZ20, -0.13% fell 1.6% to $2,305.80 an ounce.