Gold falls again
NEW YORK: Gold prices fell again early on Friday as hawkish comments on US interest rates from a top Federal Reserve official helped lift the US dollar, and as buyers continued to cash in on this week’s price rally.
Spot gold was down 0.67 percent at $1,329.02 per ounce by 2:18 p.m. EDT (1818 GMT), while US gold futures for December delivery settled down $7.1, or 0.53 percent, at $1,334.5 per ounce.
The metal stayed on track for a second successive weekly gain. Gold was 0.5 percent higher on the week, having jumped 1.8 percent to $1,352.65 an ounce on Tuesday.
Soft jobs and services data this week have dented expectations that ultra-low interest rates, a key support for non-yielding gold, will rise this year. But investors remained uncertain on the outlook for rates, however, with Fed officials recently taking a more hawkish tone.
“Gold and silver really came under pressure on renewed expectation that the Fed is actively pursuing an interest rate hike. Before it seemed like more of a long shot,” said Phillip Streible, senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago.
The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the US central bank increasingly faces risks if it waits much longer to hike rates, pressuring gold.
Growing speculation that the Fed would stand pat on interest rates after hiking for the first time in nearly a decade in December have helped push gold 26 percent higher this year.
“The problem with gold currently is that on the technicals side we’ve now twice been around $1,375-1,380, so if it gets back towards there, people are just taking profits,” ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.
“The ECB’s decision to leave policy unchanged may have refocused market participants on the possibility that the Fed sends a hawkish signal in the coming days before its pre-meeting quiet period begins next Tuesday,” BNP Paribas said in a note.
Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, fell 0.13 percent to 950.62 tonnes on Thursday.
Gold demand in Asia remained subdued this week as higher prices kept buyers at bay.
Silver was down. Spot silver was down -2.11 percent at $19.18 per ounce, while platinum platinum was down 1.96 percent at $1,061.35 an ounce. Palladium was down 1.17 percent at $674.5 an ounce.
Wheat down
CHICAGO: US wheat futures were mostly lower early on Friday, giving back a portion of gains from earlier this week as investors squared positions ahead of a government crop report due on Monday, traders said.
Chicago Board of Trade wheat edged lower, further pressured by steep declines in European milling wheat prices , while K.C. hard red winter were narrowly mixed and MGEX spring wheat futures were mostly higher.
Most actively traded CBOT wheat gained 0.8 percent for the week, recouping a small part of the roughly 10 percent losses seen over the previous two weeks.
The US Department of Agriculture earlier said US wheat export sales in the week ended Sept. 1 totaled 661,100 tonnes, above a range of trade estimates for 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes.
Russia’s SovEcon agriculture consultancy has downgraded its forecast for Russia’s 2016 grain crop to 70.8 million tonnes from a previously expected level of 71.3 million tonnes.
Chicago Board of Trade soyabean edged higher on Friday, lifted by strong export demand for US supplies as investors squared positions in advance of a government crop report due on Monday, traders said.
Soyabeans on a continuous chart for the most actively traded contract gained 2.7 percent for the week, reaching the largest weekly jump since July after two weeks of declines.
Soyameal futures eased about 0.8 percent on Friday while soyaoil was slightly higher and palm oil gained nearly 1 percent.
The US Department of Agriculture earlier reported soyabean export sales for the week ended Sept. 1 at 1,776,800 tonnes for the 2016/17 season, above the high end of analysts’ expectations.—Reuters
