Gold might have gained early on Friday, but like oil, it eased as the session went on. However, similar to oil, it is still heading into the final week of the second quarter and first half with notable gains.
In fact, the first six months of 2024 were marked by several record highs and the shocking news that the surge in prices had forced the Chinese central bank out of the market in May.
The record prices for the metal, especially in Australian dollars, have led to a significant drop in local gold sales.
According to the World Gold Council, the Australian dollar gold price on Friday was $A3,496 an ounce, up around $A480 an ounce since the start of the year, but more than $A200 below the all-time highs in May.
In US dollars, gold was up 12.7% on Comex, while silver jumped 23% due to its cheaper price. Comex copper is up nearly 14%, despite a 7% slide in the past month.
Comex front-month gold ended Friday at $US2,334.70, up 0.6% for the week. Comex silver finished at $US29.58, down 1.9% for the week.
Comex copper ended at $US4.43 a pound, losing 1.2% for the week after Friday’s 2.9% slide.
Friday’s close for copper was the lowest on Comex since April 23. Gold surrendered early gains by midafternoon on Friday, falling sharply after the dollar and yields rose following stronger-than-expected economic data.
US Treasury bond yields rose off lows following the data.
The two-year note was last at 4.743%, down 0.7 of a basis point but up from 4.698% earlier, while the yield on the 10-year bond was up 0.1 basis points to 4.257% after earlier touching 4.198%.
The dollar rose, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.22 to 105.82, the highest since May 1.
