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Gold futures headed higher on Friday, but the yellow metal was on pace to book a slight weekly decline as a rally in assets considered risky, pushed stocks to all-time highs, helping to undercut some demand for assets perceived as havens.
That said, bullion prices have held above a line viewed as support by technical analyst at $1,550, offering a modicum of optimism for gold bulls.
“The gold markets like gold much more than the risk correlation matrixes do for sure. Indeed, there is demand for all thing’s gold, as evidenced in the sturdy bid around $1550/oz,” wrote Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader, in a daily research report.
“Typically record-setting equity markets and higher gold prices seldom, if ever, can co-exist in the same space, not to mention neither can do much better than expected US economic data,” he said.
Gold for February delivery GCG20, +0.34% on Comex gained $5.50, or 0.4%, at $1,556.20 an ounce, after settling 0.2% lower on Thursday. March silver SIH20, +0.65%, meanwhile, picked up 13 cents, or 0.7%, at $18.070 an ounce, following a 0.3% decline for gold’s companion metal.
For the week, gold futures are headed for a weekly loss of 0.3%, while silver is on track to fall 0.2% over the 5-day trading period.
Gold pared an earlier gain on Friday after a U.S. housing report came in at its best level in about 13 years. Housing starts and permits jumped 16.9% to an annual rate of 1.608 million units last month, the highest level since 2006.
Meanwhile, market participants digested readings of expansion for China, which showed economic growth picked up in December but at 6.1% at an annual rate was the lowest level in nearly three decades.
