Gold, Silver, and Platinum up

“Gold bars are bought as a hedge” against tariff-related downside risks to stocks as well as U.S. and global economic growth, commodity analysts at Citigroup said in a research note on Friday after the U.S. stock market’s close. “In precious metals, we see gold moving higher very near term” to $3,000 per ounce, they wrote.

“Gold has soared to another record high today amid a further ratcheting up in trade tensions,”  said Joe Maher, assistant economist at Capital Economics, in a note Monday. “Concerns that gold may get caught in the trade-war crossfire may also have led U.S. investors to buy up gold in order to get ahead of any future tariffs that might affect U.S. gold imports.”

Source – Market Watch

Gold prices fell on Friday and were poised for their worst weekly performance in more than a month after the Federal Reserve tempered expectations for rate cuts and on a temporary easing of concerns about an imminent U.S. attack on Iran.

Spot gold slipped 0.7% to $3,347.80 an ounce, as of 1201 GMT, and was down 2.5% for the week so far. U.S. gold futures shed 1.3% to $3,364.00.

“Gold, silver, and platinum all suffered setbacks as traders booked profits after Wednesday’s FOMC meeting,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

“Gold is likely to extend its current consolidation phase with support around $3,320 followed by $3,245.”

Source – Reuters

All existing slots at the Bank of England to withdraw gold bars are booked up as market players race to ship the metal to the United States to take advantage of a surge in gold prices there, an official has said.

“The US gold market has been trading at a premium to the London market,” Dave Ramsden, deputy governor for markets and banking at the central bank, told reporters Thursday. The owners of the gold bars in its underground vaults have been “looking to take advantage of that price differential,” he added.

Meanwhile, gold inventories on the US COMEX exchange — a major market for trading gold, silver and other metals — have almost doubled since the end of October, Commerzbank said in a note Friday.

“The fact that gold is significantly more expensive on the COMEX than (in) other trading centers is likely related to the feared US import tariffs, which could possibly also affect gold,” wrote Carsten Fritsch, a commodity analyst at the German bank. “The deliveries on the COMEX are therefore likely to be primarily driven by concerns about possible supply disruptions.”

Source – CNN

COMEX – Commodity Exchange

They bought over 1,000 tonnes of the precious metal last year, double the average amount purchased in the previous decade, according to a European Central Bank report published on Wednesday.

The authors wrote that global holdings of gold by reserve banks increased to 36,000 metric tons in 2024, close to the record of 38,000 metric tons reached around 60 years ago.

Now, central bank reserves are composed of, on average, the dollar, at 46%, gold, at 20%, other currencies at 18%, and the euro at 16%.

Source – Business Insider