Gold firms near one-month peak on softer dollar, slowdown worries

Friday,   05-Aug-2022   08:33 AM (IST)

Gold prices firmed on Friday to hover near a one-month high, as a retreat in dollar and U.S. Treasury yields and growing recession fears boosted demand, keeping the safe-haven metal on track for its third straight weekly rise. Spot gold  was up 0.2% at $1,793.88 per ounce, as of 0054 GMT, after hitting its highest since July 5 on Thursday. Bullion is up 1.6% so far this week. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,810.60. The dollar struggled to gain a footing on Friday after dropping 0.6% overnight against its rivals, making gold more appealing for other currency holders. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes   also slipped, reducing the opportunity cost of holding  non-interest bearing gold. The Bank of England raised interest rates by the most in 27 years on Thursday in an attempt to smother surging inflation on track to top 13%, even as it warned a long recession is coming. The monthly U.S. non-farm payrolls report will be closely watched on Friday that could offer more clarity on Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening plans to fight against inflation. Economists expect an increase of 250,000 jobs for the month of July. Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week. China fired multiple missiles near Taiwan in its biggest ever military drills in the Taiwan Strait after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island. SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.03 percent to 1,000.32 tonnes on Thursday. Spot silver rose 0.2% to $20.21 per ounce, platinum gained 0.9% to $934.25, and palladium climbed 1.1% to $2,086.68.