This post was originally published on this site
Gold futures traded slightly lower Friday, heading for the longest losing skid in more than two months after the monthly U.S. employment report helped to solidify a rally in equities and away from so-called havens, as Middle East tensions ease.
“Despite the recent US and Iran airstrikes, risk appetite has been largely restored,” wrote Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM in a Friday research note. He said “gold has erased all of its gains to trade below the psychological $1550 level.”
February gold GCG20, -0.02% on Comex was down $2.60, or 0.2%, at $1,551.60 an ounce, after falling 0.4% in the prior session. A third decline on Friday would mark its longest string of losses since a four-session decline ended Nov. 12, according to FactSet data. The reversal for gold over the week also comes after it hit a 2013 peak at $1,613.30.
For the week, gold is on track to decline of less than 0.1%, but perhaps more telling is gold’s nearly 4.4% peak-to-trough move over the week.
Meanwhile, equity markets, which often move in the opposite direction of gold, were surging, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.12%, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.21% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.29% all aiming for new all-time highs on Friday.
The backsliding in the precious commodity and jump in stocks over the five-session stretch follows a lessening of Middle East tensions that has restored risk appetite and produced a major drag on precious metals.
On Wednesday President Donald Trump delivered remarks that underscored a move toward peace after a late-Tuesday Iranian airstrike on U.S. air bases in Iraq in an apparent retaliation for the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani a week ago. Separately, A Chinese envoy is set to go to Washington on Monday through Wednesday to firm up a phase-one trade agreement.
Gold prices briefly jumped into positive territory after the release of the December employment report, which showed the U.S. economy created a smaller-than-expected 145,000 jobs in the final month of 2019, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.5%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast, on average, a rise of 165,000, with Wall Street expecting a drop-off after a surprisingly robust 256,000 gain in November.
March silver SIH20, +0.41%, meanwhile, added 4 cents, or 0.3%, to trade at $17.980 an ounce, on track for a weekly slide of 1%.
March copper HGH20, +0.04% was 0.1% lower at $2.798 a pound. April platinum PLJ20, +0.53% rose $4, or 0.4%, at $975.80 an ounce, after gaining 0.9% in the previous session. The white metal, however, has lost 1.5% for the week.
Meanwhile, Palladium looked set to end the week at or near records. March palladium PAH20, +0.62% was headed $13, or 0.6%, higher at $2,072.20 an ounce, with a weekly gain of 6%.
