Gold prices muted; silver, platinum mark bumper week on haven bids, rate cut bets
Investing.com-- Gold prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Friday and were set for a mildly positive week, while silver and platinum outperformed and remained close to record highs amid strong safe haven demand.
Broader metal prices also advanced, after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data spurred bets on more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Metal prices rose even as the dollar recovered marginally from recent losses.
Spot gold fell 0.1% to $4,326.89 an ounce, remaining close to an October record high, while gold futures for February fell 0.2% to $4,354.70/oz by 00:48 ET (05:48 GMT). Bullion prices were trading up about 0.4% this week.
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Silver and platinum prices, however, raced past gold on Friday and the week, with both precious metals coming close to record highs.
Spot silver rose 0.5% to $65.8365/oz and was up 6% this week in its fourth consecutive week of gains. Spot platinum rose 0.6% to $1,937.50/oz, and was up 10.5% this week.
Other precious metals also rallied this week on similar trends. Spot palladium rose 1.4% to $1,709.20/oz, and was headed for a 14% spike this week.
Demand for the two largely outpaced gold in recent weeks, as investors sought more real world assets amid growing concerns over slowing economic growth in the developed world.
Silver and platinum offer stability that is comparable to gold, but at substantially lower prices when compared to the yellow metal, especially after a strong rally in gold prices through the past year.
Expectations of silver and platinum supply shortages, in the coming year, underpinned the two metals.
Metal prices broadly advanced after U.S. consumer price index inflation data for November read softer than expected. The print spurred confidence in more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
But analysts warned that November’s reading was potentially disrupted by a long-running government shutdown in October and early-November. Goldman Sachs analysts said that December’s CPI reading was likely to provide more definitive cues on U.S. inflation and interest rates, and that the November reading was unlikely to factor into the Fed’s outlook.
Uncertainty over the U.S. economy was a major driver of haven demand this week, after an unexpected rise in unemployment sparked concerns over stagflationary risks for the U.S. economy.
