Daily Times

Gold prices rose on Friday after hitting a more than six-month low in the previous session as the dollar retreated from recent highs amid a rising euro, but the yellow metal looked set to post its sharpest monthly fall in 19 months.

Spot gold was 0.3 percent higher at $1,250.98 an ounce, as of 0649 GMT. On Thursday, it touched $1,245.32, its lowest since Dec. 13, 2017.

The dollar is still strong, so we expect gold prices to head down, said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.

“Gold is weak now and people are not looking to invest at this point of time,” he said.

The yellow metal was on track for a third straight weekly decline, having slipped 1.4 percent so far this week. Spot gold was down about 3.6 percent for the month, heading for its biggest monthly drop since November 2016.

US gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,252.50 an ounce.

The euro jumped more than a half cent after European Union leaders reached an agreement on migration, a thorny issue that has threatened EU unity and the fate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A stronger euro potentially boosts demand for gold by making dollar-priced bullion cheaper for European investors.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.6 percent at 94.856, after having risen to about one-year high on Thursday. But the index was up 5.4 percent this quarter, supported mainly by rising US interest rates and an improving US economy.

“There is feeling in some quarters that we may be nearing the bottom of this recent downturn,” MKS PAMP Group trader Tim Brown wrote in a note.

Support-wise, gold appears fairly well bid around $1,245-$1,248 and there should be support at $1,237 and below that, Brown said.

Published in Daily Times, June 30^th 2018.