Gold rose on Friday, as did silver, iron ore slid and oil plunged again.
Comex gold for April delivery rose $US5.30, or 0.4%, to settle at $US1,484.60 an ounce on Friday, up nearly $US50 from its low last Monday.
In the last 10 trading days, gold has dropped $US250, an unusually steep decline in a short period of time, as the combination of the growing COVID-19 pandemic and the impact from the Saudi-Russia oil price and volume war have knocked investors sentiment.
For the week, prices for the most-active contract lost 2.1%, according to FactSet. The previous week’s loss of more than 9% was the largest since September 2011.
The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has shut down for two weeks which means the Mint will not be producing its Gold and Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins.
And analysts at Bank of America Securities said that they see gold prices averaging the year at $1,619 an ounce, down slightly from its previous average forecast of $1,625.
“We have also reduced forecasts for the precious metals after margin calls triggered a round of long liquidations especially in gold,” the analyst said.
Comex May silver rose 25.1 cents, or 2.1%, to $US12.385 an ounce, for a weekly decline of 14.6%.
Against that backdrop, May copper ended at $2.1715 a pound, down 0.6% Friday and nearly 12% lower for the week.
Copper fell, as did gold and silver because investors were liquidating their positions to raise cash.
That happened in bonds and drove yields higher as the sales continued until Thursday when the Fed revealed support funds for money market (Thursday) and municipal (Friday) funds. That helped push US bond yields lower.
The yield on the 10-year and ended at 0.87% on Friday, down from 1.158% on Thursday.
The price of 62% Fe iron ore fines delivered to northern China, fell 4% to $US87.98, according to the Metal Bulletin.
Traders said the fall came amid new concerns about the impact of the novel coronavirus on downstream steel businesses outside China emerged.
That’s down from $US91.91 a tonne from the previous week, a fall of 5%.
Global iron ore prices fell on Friday in the biggest drop for several weeks.
The price of 62% Fe iron ore fines delivered to northern China, fell 4% to $US87.98, according to the Metal Bulletin.
Traders said the fall came amid new concerns about the impact of the novel coronavirus on downstream steel businesses outside China emerged.
That’s down from $US91.91 a tonne from the previous week, a fall of 5%.
