Gold prices rise and are heading for the first gains in 5 weeks

Gold prices rose during trading on Friday, with the metal heading towards recording its first weekly gain in 5 weeks.

The precious metal benefited from the US dollar’s retreat from the threshold of its highest levels in two decades, in addition to the exacerbation of concern about the growth of the US economy.

And gold prices recorded the largest daily gains in a month during yesterday’s session, Thursday, May 19, 2022, after the price of the metal increased by about $ 25.

Gold Prices Today

The price of gold futures contracts – for delivery next August – increased by more than 0.11%, equivalent to two dollars, to record 1842.80 dollars an ounce.

On the weekly performance front, gold prices recorded a rise of about 1.5% this week so far, which would be the first weekly gain since mid-April.

And the price of immediate delivery of gold rose, by more than 0.1%, to reach $ 1844.45 an ounce.

The price of the silver futures contract – July delivery – decreased by 0.45%, to reach $21.80 an ounce.

The spot platinum price also decreased by 0.27%, to record $960.28 an ounce, and the spot palladium price rose 0.5%, to rise to $ 1989.03 an ounce.

Yellow Metal Performance

Gold prices are witnessing remarkable gains in times of economic anxiety, considering the metal as a safe haven.

Stephen Innes, managing director of Asset Management at SBI, says that economic recession fears are now giving way to US economic growth concerns, which is supporting gold prices.

He adds that the path of raising interest rates by the US Federal Reserve and quantitative tightening will remain bearish factors for gold, as raising interest rates for the precious metal provides an alternative opportunity for holding gold bullion that does not generate a fixed return.

Although gold is seen as a safe store of value in times of economic crisis, bullion does not yield any returns, making it less attractive to investors when short-term interest rates are raised in the United States.

A Reuters poll of economists showed that the US central bank will make interest rates higher by the end of this year than expected a month ago, keeping significant recession risks in place.

Reflecting rising demand, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings rose 0.66% to 1,056.18 tons Thursday, after a recent spate of losses.