Gold Went Slightly Lower Amid Mideast Tensions Fading

On Friday, gold prices inched lower after dropping as much as 1% in the last session. And this happened as easing tensions in the Middle East compelled investors to go back to riskier bets.

Spot gold price declined 0.1% to $1,550.66 an ounce, slipping to their lowest since January 3 at $1,539.78 on Thursday. Then, U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,551.60.

Aside from that, global stocks rallied to reach record highs following comments from U.S. President Donald Trump. The US and Iran pointed to a de-escalation in military tensions. And this occurred even as the United States imposed more sanctions to Iran.

Market strategist Stephen Innes stated, “We are looking at the risk-on sentiment, a stronger dollar, and surging equities.”

He added that the U.S. president is suggesting that Iran was standing down. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s legislation to limit Trump’s executive powers against Iran was diminishing the pressure in the Mideast.

Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives sent a resolution to prevent Trump from implementing further military action against Iran. And gold had risen to more than $1,600 on Wednesday after Iran launched missile strikes on U.S. forces. The strikes were a retaliation to the killing of its top commander in a drone attack. More on weighing gold, the dollar looked set to show its best week in two months.

Phase One Trade Deal

Meanwhile, on the trade front, Washington and Beijing might be signing their Phase One trade deal shortly after January 15. Now, investors are waiting for the U.S. non-farm payrolls.

Senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley noted, “Gold remains on the back foot in Asia as traders price out the geopolitical risk in precious metals.”

Halley also said that a break of $1,540 meant a deeper correction to $1,520 might happen.

Then, indicative of sentiment, holdings of the world’s biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust slipped 0.5% to 882.12 tons on Thursday.

Palladium also edged lower by 0.3% to $2,101,81 per ounce. It hit a record peak of $2,149.50 in the previous session on supply woes. During the week, the metal was set to post its best week since mid-June. And it rose to almost 6% so far.

Silver, on the other hand, gained 0.2% at 17.93 an ounce. However, it was on its way to its worst week in five. And platinum went up 0.2% to $968.49.

Soybean Prices

Elsewhere, soybean prices on Friday increased by Rs 6 to Rs 4,350 per quintal in the futures market. At the same time, traders made fresh positions on strong spot demand.

Then, on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, January delivery of soybeans climbed by Rs 6 or 0.14 percent. It is currently at Rs 4,350 per quintal with an open interest of 32,210 lots.

In addition to that, for its February delivery, it also increased by Rs 4 or 0.09 percent. And it is trading at Rs 4,364 per quintal with an open interest of 32,210 lots.

Based on some market players, increasing fresh positions by speculators on the back of a higher demand caused the soybean prices to rise.