The Herald
Gold steadied on Friday as weak US retail sales data countered pressure from an uptick in the dollar and Treasury yields, with overall weakness in the dollar keeping bullion on course for its best week since mid-November.
Spot gold was unchanged at US$1 821,66 per ounce by 10:45 am on Friday.
US gold futures rose 0,1 percent to US$1 822,60.
Gold gained briefly after the release of data showing retail sales tumbled by 1,9 percent in December as Americans struggled with shortages of goods due to supply chain bottlenecks and an explosion of Covid-19 infections.
Gold is acting as a placeholder in people’s portfolios “until the dust settles” in terms of where the economy is going, said Philip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
The weak data this week could eventually either cause a selloff in wider markets or prompt the Federal Reserve to curb rate hike expectations, and gold gets a…
