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Gold prices continued to soften on Friday for a fifth straight session, tumbling to their weakest level for a most-actively traded contract since December, while silver prices fell to their lowest level since July 2020.
The ongoing weakness in precious metals comes after it shed 2% of its value during the month of June.
Meanwhile, copper prices tumbled to their lowest level since January 2021.
Price action
-
Gold futures
GC00,
-1.06%
for August delivery fell $22.40, or 1.2%, to $1,784. -
Silver futures
SI00,
-4.65%
for September delivery fell 78 cents, or 3.8%, to $19.57. -
Platinum futures
PL00,
-4.72%
for October delivery fell $38.70, or 4.3%, to $856.60 -
Palladium futures
PA00,
-1.39%
for September delivery fell $27.60, or 1.4%, to $1,888. - Copper futures for September delivery fell 14 cents, or 3.7%, to $3.55 per pound.
What analysts are saying
As commodities continue to weaken and recession fears batter markets, several commodity analysts said that the technical action in the gold market suggests that the metal will continue to slide.
“A weekly close below $1,800 could spell trouble for the yellow metal,” said Craig Erlam, a senior market strategist at OANDA.
On the industrial metals side, a team of analysts at Commerzbank said the easing of China’s COVID restrictions had failed to bolster demand for copper — which is trading at its weakest level in 17 months — as fears of slowing global growth continue to weigh on industrial commodities.
Silver has fallen even more sharply than gold because it has characteristics of both a precious metal and an industrial metal. The excess decline in the price of silver has sent the ratio of gold to silver prices to its highest level in two years.
“Besides the falling gold price, silver is being additionally depressed by the very weak base metals prices — this is because silver is not only an investment metal but to an equal extent also an industrial metal,” said the Commerzbank team in a written research note.
