Gold futures settled at their lowest level since late March on Thursday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and hopes for a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by Congress.
Price action
-
Gold futures for June delivery
GC00,
-1.24% GCM23,
-1.24%
declined by $25.10, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,959.80 per ounce on Comex, the lowest since March 27. Prices for the most-active contract were 3% lower week to date, poised for the largest weekly decline since the week ended Oct. 14, according to Dow Jones Market Data. -
July silver
SI00,
-0.99% SIN23,
-0.99%
declined by 26 cents, or 1.1%, to $23.63 per ounce. -
June palladium
PAM23,
-1.31%
shed $34.70, or 2.3%, to $1,450.20 per ounce, while July platinum
PLN23,
-2.10%
declined by $24.40, or nearly 2.3%, to $1,058.20 per ounce. -
Copper for July
HGN23,
-1.57%
delivery fell by 6 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.69 per pound.
Market drivers
Gold futures declined for a third straight session and were on track to notch their biggest weekly percentage drop since October as prices continued to pullback from their May 4 Comex settlement, which was the second highest on record.
Both gold and silver are seeing their momentum fade as the U.S. dollar continues to climb, extending a recent rebound that had carried the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
to its highest level in about two months. In Thursday dealings, the index was up 0.7% at 103.60.
“That’s a significantly bearish outside-market development for the metals markets,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com. “Rising U.S. Treasury yields this week are also a negative for the precious metals.”
The yield on the 10-year Treasury
TMUBMUSD10Y,
rose 6.5 basis points to 3.638%.
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Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said a debt-ceiling deal might be “doable” by Sunday. However, market experts cautioned that reaching a deal is merely the first step in what could be a fraught process.
“Reaching an agreement is just one step — remember that it has to pass through Congress as well,” said Bipan Rai, head of currency strategy at CIBC Capital Markets.
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