Gold firms above $1 800/oz as pandemic, inflation risks linger
Gold climbed above the key $1 800/oz level on Tuesday, after a sharp retreat in the last session, as some investors sought cover from pandemic-led uncertainty, inflation and its impact on the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike trajectory.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1 804.80/oz by 1110 GMT, after recording its worst session in more than a month on Monday. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $1 805.3.
"Gold prices are seeing some relief after being pummelled by surging US Treasury yields on Monday. Rising yields could be the scourge of bullion bugs in the first half of 2022, as ramped-up expectations for Fed rate hikes could dampen demand for the non-interest-paying precious metal," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity.
"Still, lingering concerns over a possible turn for the worse in the worldwide battle against Covid-19 should offer some measure of support for gold prices while waiting for the global outlook to brighten considerably," Tan added.
The dollar index and benchmark 10-year Treasury yields stayed strong on Tuesday, after having driven bullion's sharp declines in the last session.
However, "once the dust settles it is very important to watch what the FOMC does and not what it says," Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said in a note.
U.S. real yields may not rise as much as expected by the market "and with that in mind and given the prospect for US stocks coming off the boil, we believe gold as well as silver and platinum will offer a positive return in 2022," Ole added.
In the physical market, the world's second-biggest bullion consumer India splurged a record $55.7-billion on gold imports, amid lower prices and pent-up wedding demand.
Spot silver fell 0.3% to $22.79 per ounce, platinum rose 0.7% to $961.40, and palladium rose 2.4% to $1 868.68.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation