Gold of 24 karat bars are seen at West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York.
London: Gold firmed yesterday as forecast-beating eurozone inflation boosted the euro against the dollar, while global stock markets retreated from Wednesday’s record highs as concerns about global trade subdued appetite for cyclical assets.
The metal remains on track for its biggest weekly drop in seven, however, as appetite for nominally higher-risk assets sharpened early in the week at gold’s expense. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,266.11 an ounce at 09:45 GMT, while US gold futures for June delivery were up $1.90 at $1,267.80. Spot gold was down 1.4 percent from last Friday’s level, its biggest weekly loss since early March.
The euro hit session highs versus the US currency while euro zone bond yields and stocks rose after data showing euro zone inflation beat expectations in April.
Gold suffered earlier this week after a strong showing in the first round of the French elections from Emmanuel Macron, the centrist candidate largely favoured by financial markets. That tempered some fears that a candidate less friendly to the European Union could win through.
A three-day rally in stock markets stalled after a largely expected US tax cut plan, however. US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Wednesday received a lukewarm reception as some details were largely anticipated by investors.
Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares , fell 0.1 percent to 853.36 tonnes on Thursday. Holdings are down by more than 6 tonnes since Tuesday.
Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.8 percent at $17.36 an ounce, while platinum advanced 0.5 percent to $944.25.
Palladium was up 0.6 percent at $819.97, having touched a two-year high of $824.50 an ounce. It was the only weekly gainer among the precious metals, set to finish the week with a 3.8 percent rise.
