Gold and silver futures finished higher on Monday, reversing some of their recent losses, as this weekend’s aborted mutiny in Russia helped boost demand for safety plays like gold and Treasury bonds.
The yellow metal also benefited from a weaker U.S. dollar, as the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
a gauge of the buck’s strength against a basket of rivals, was off by 0.2% at 102.70.
Price action
-
Gold futures for August delivery
GC00,
-0.39% GCQ23,
-0.39%
gained $4.20, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,933.80 per ounce on Comex. -
Silver futures for July delivery
SI00,
+0.63% SIN23,
+0.63%
rose 47 cents, or 2.1%, to $22.83 per ounce. -
Palladium futures for September
PAU23,
-0.67%
rose by $23.70, or nearly 1.9%, to $1,302.70 per ounce, while platinum futures for July delivery
PLN23,
-0.86%
rose $4.90, or 0.5%, to $928.60 per ounce. -
Copper futures for September delivery
HG00,
-0.16%
lost a penny, or 0.3%, to $3.80 per pound.
Market drivers
There is safe-haven demand for gold in the wake of developments in Russia, said Chintan Karnani, an independent consultant who has tracked the gold markets for the last 20 years.
Russia saw a brief rebellion over the weekend with the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, briefly leading an uprising against Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The situation in Russia continued to capture investors’ attention, but gold, is also moving in response to a weaker U.S. dollar and lower Treasury yields, analysts said.
“Lower rates and a softer dollar have given gold a small lift,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, in emailed commentary, adding that the precious metal traded near $1,910 before the weekend, a three-month low.
Gold and silver prices tumbled to their lowest levels in at least three months last week as fears of more central-bank interest-rate hikes weighed on precious metals prices.
The most important price level everyone is looking at is $1,900, and bulls are hoping that the price will continue to remain above that level, said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets, in market commentary.
If prices fail to hold that level, it’s likely that prices will fall toward the $1,850 mark, he said.
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