April 23 – Gold prices experienced a decline to a more than two-week low on Tuesday amidst alleviating concerns regarding an escalation in the Middle East turmoil and profit-taking activities. Investors remained poised for significant U.S. data releases to glean fresh insights into the trajectory of the Federal Reserve’s interest rates.
As of 0820 GMT, spot gold decreased by 0.8% to $2,308.85 per ounce, marking its lowest level since April 5 earlier in the trading session. Concurrently, U.S. gold futures slipped by 1% to $2,322.10.
Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, remarked, “Gold has attracted diverse buying interests in recent months, and now one of those interests has somewhat waned with the retreat of safe-haven demand. Investors perceive this as an opportunity to capitalize on some gains following gold’s recent robust performance.”
On Monday, gold experienced a dip of more than 2%, marking its most significant intraday decline in over a year, as apprehensions of a broader regional conflict subsided subsequent to Iran’s announcement indicating no plans for retaliation following an alleged Israeli drone attack.
In a note, Singaporean bank OCBC suggested that the substantial overnight plunge in gold prices “may have also triggered liquidation among weak long positions, potentially exacerbating the downward pressure.”
This week, investors are closely monitoring the U.S. GDP data slated for release on Thursday and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) print scheduled for Friday.
Waterer added, “If these reports happen to exceed expectations, we might witness a further delay in anticipated interest rate adjustments. Such a scenario could prompt a more pronounced retreat in gold prices.”
The allure of holding non-yielding gold diminishes with higher interest rates.
According to a Reuters poll, the headline PCE for March is anticipated to witness an increase of 0.3%, remaining unchanged from the previous month, with a year-on-year gain of 2.6%, compared to a 2.5% upturn in February.
Simultaneously, spot silver witnessed a 1% decline to $26.93 per ounce, while platinum dropped by 0.1% to $916.10, and palladium experienced a 0.5% decrease to $1,003.50.
