Gold prices traded lower on Tuesday as the latest rally took a breather after settling at the highest levels since April.
Price action
-
Gold futures for February delivery
GC00,
-0.25% GCG23,
-0.25%
fell by $9.40, or 0.5%, to $1,912 per ounce on Comex, according to FactSet data. -
March silver
SI00,
-0.52% SIH23,
-0.52%
fell by 19 cents, or 0.8%, to $24.18 per ounce. -
Palladium for March
PAH23,
-3.12%
declined by $55, or 3.1%, to $1,731 per ounce, while April platinum
PLJ23,
-1.30%
decreased by $10.40, or 1%, to $1,062 per ounce. -
March copper
HG00,
-0.76% HGH23,
-0.76%
declined by 6 cents, or 1.5%, to $4.153 per pound.
Market drivers
Gold has led a rally in precious metals as a weaker U.S. dollar has given prices a boost, while China’s economic reopening after lifting Covid restrictions has spurred hopes for rising demand.
“Among the precious metals, gold stands out for having risen by more than 5% to reach its highest level since the end of April 2022. The other precious metals are lagging behind, however,” said a team of precious metals analysts at Commerzbank in a Tuesday note.
The Commerzbank analysts cautioned against betting that the rally in gold will “simply continue,” arguing that there’s still a “discrepancy” between the market’s interest-rate expectations and the Federal Reserve’s projections and messaging, which could make gold vulnerable to a pullback.
“Nonetheless, we would warn against assuming that the price upswing will simply continue. There is still a considerable discrepancy between the interest rate path anticipated by the market and that indicated by the Fed,” they said. “If the market changes its view and moves more into line with the Fed, the gold price risks facing serious setback potential.”
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
was flat at 102.10 in recent trade.