Gold prices retreated on Monday, but held above $2,000 per ounce amid a bout of what one precious-metals strategist described as “routine profit taking.” A stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on the yellow metal.
Price action
-
Gold futures for June delivery
GC00,
-0.92% GCM23,
-0.92%
fell by $10.20, or 0.5%, to $2,016 per ounce on Comex. -
Silver futures for May delivery
SI00,
-0.29% SIK23,
-0.29%
gained 11 cents, or 0.4%, to $25.22 per ounce. -
June palladium
PAM23,
-1.70%
rose by $5.10, or 0.3%, to $1,467 per ounce, while July platinum
PLN23,
-0.89%
rose by $7, or 0.7%, to $1,024 per ounce. -
Copper for May delivery
HGK23,
-0.77%
gained 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $4.02 per pound.
Market drivers
Gold prices rose last week for the sixth week in a row. But prices started off lower as global markets were caught in a post-Easter lull, with much of Europe still out.
“Technically, the gold futures bulls have the solid overall near-term technical advantage,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com.
Gold prices weakened as the U.S. dollar strengthened. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
a measure of the buck’s strength against a basket of rivals, rose 0.3% to 102.4.
Gold and silver prices have risen sharply since the start of the new year, continuing a rally that started in the fall.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates later this year sent gold futures to their highest intraday level in about 13 months on Wednesday. A day earlier, the most-active contract reached the highest settlement level for a most-active contract since May.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
