Gold settled higher Friday, overcoming strength in the US dollar as investors sought the safety of bonds as they reacted to fresh fears about global and US growth.
Comex gold for April delivery rose $US5, or 0.4%, to settle at $US1,312.30 an ounce for a weekly gain of 0.7%, which was its third weekly rise in a row, according to FactSet figures.
Gold is down more than 1% in March but still up around 1.7% so far in 2019.
Comex May copper fell 6.4 cents, or 2.2%, to $US2.843 a pound, for a weekly loss of 2.2%.
That took the loss so far in March to 3.4% and trimmed the gain for the year to 7.5% – it was up 11% a month ago.
Comex May silver lost 3 cents, or 0.2%, at $15.407 an ounce, but settled up 0.5% over the week.
In other metals trading, June palladium dropped $US42.40, or 2.7%, at $US1,515.50 an ounce, down 0.2% for the week as the boomlet cooled a touch. April platinum fell $US12.70, or 1.5%, to $US848.40 an ounce, a gain of about 2% for the week.
In London, copper prices fell on Friday as weak European and US factory activity worried investors and strengthened the dollar.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 1.7% to end at $US6,312 a tonne, slipping from an eight-month high of $US6,555.50 on Thursday.
The 1.7% drop was LME copper’s biggest weekly loss since December.
European data showing factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in nearly six years and weaker US figures fanned fears that weaker global growth will sap demand for commodities, especially in China (the world’s biggest buyer and user of copper) where the economy remains sluggish.
The fundamentals look OK for the metal – the global copper market was in a deficit of 387,000 tonnes last year, compared with a 265,000-tonne shortfall in 2017, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said last week.
Zinc, nickel, and aluminum prices were a touch weaker, but low stocks are helping support them at the moment.
