Gold Price News: Gold Ends Higher As Bond Yields Ease
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Gold prices ended slightly higher on Thursday in a volatile session, after falling US treasury yields helped lift prices back up off an earlier low.
Prices initially fell as low as $2,323 an ounce before rebounding strongly to reach $2,352 an ounce later in the session. That compared with around $2,339 an ounce in late trades on Wednesday.
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US 10-year treasury bond yields fell back on Thursday, easing from a four-week high seen on Wednesday, and helping gold rebound off the earlier lows to notch up a slight day-on-day gain.
US economic data came in on Thursday which was mostly in line with market expectations, providing little convincing impetus for gold prices.
US GDP growth figures for Q1 came in at 1.3%, level with expectations, while weekly initial jobless claims figures came in at 219,000 in the week to May 25, very close to an expected figure of 218,000.
Elsewhere, data from interest rate traders indicates an expected probability that the first US interest rate cut will come in November. This compares with expectations earlier in the year that the US Fed would start cutting rates before the summer, and make up to three cuts in 2024 in total. That now looks much less likely, as central banks are under pressure to maintain existing rates to bring inflation down towards target levels.
Meanwhile, Chinese investment demand for physical gold has been strong in recent months, with Chinese gold exchange-traded products showing inflows for five consecutive months, according to a May report by asset management company WisdomTree: WisdomTree Gold Monthly GB | WisdomTree Europe. April was the strongest month on record, attracting $1.3 billion and pushing total assets under management to a historical high of $6.4 billion, it said.
Looking ahead, the markets will be watching out for the US Core PCE Price Index figures for April on Friday, which are expected to show a 0.3% gain in April compared with March.
Kitco Media
Frank Watson
Tim Moseley