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Gold futures on Friday headed sharply lower, putting bullion on track to record its steepest daily drop in October, dragging the commodity to its sharpest weekly fall in more than a year, amid growing optimism on Sino-American trade talks and progress on Brexit.
December gold on Comex GCZ19, -0.86% was down $17, or 1.1%, to trade at $1,484.30 an ounce, falling further below the psychologically significant level at $1,500. Bullion’s decline, if it holds, would push the metal to its weakest level since Oct. 1 and produce its sharpest daily slump since Sept. 30, according to FactSet data.
For the week, gold is on track to lose 1.9%, which would represent the firmest weekly decline for the most-active contract since a 2% decline in the week ended Nov. 9, 2018.
Meanwhile, December silver SIZ19, -0.66% lost 14 cents, or 0.8%, to trade at $17.465 an ounce, putting gold’s sister metal on pace for a weekly decline of 0.1%.
Markets were buoyant, after President Donald Trump offered an upbeat assessment of the talks and said he would meet with China Vice Premier Liu He on Friday, the final day of the most recent round of high-level trade discussions.
Optimism around a possible resolution has given a lift to stocks, while undercutting appetite for assets perceived as havens like gold and government bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial DJIA, +0.57% and the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.64% were both set to jump in Friday action.
Meanwhile, growing hopes that U.K. and European leaders can reach a deal for Britain to leave the European Union also pushed equity markets higher and precious metals’ prices lower
“Investors are now waiting for further market movers, while prices are compressed between $1,480 and $1,520,” said Carlo Alberto De Casa, chief analyst, ActivTrades.
