Gold futures moved higher on Friday, but the yellow metal barely budged for the week as stock rallied to all-time highs, helping to undercut some demand for assets perceived as havens.
“Gold has struggled to shine this week as positive economic data from the United States and China cooled concerns over the global economy,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.
“Appetite towards the metal was also bruised by the ‘phase one’ [U.S.-China] deal, which offered some light at the end of the long trade war tunnel,” he told MarketWatch. “With stock markets hitting record highs and the dollar stabilizing, gold is positioned to weaken in the short term.”
Gold for February delivery GCG20, +0.44%[1] on Comex gained $9.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,560.30 an ounce. March silver SIH20, +0.56%[2], meanwhile, picked up 13.4 cents, or about 0.8%, at $18.073 an ounce.
For the week, gold futures gained about 20 cents higher than last Friday’s settlement, following gains for each of the last three weeks, according to FactSet data. Silver fell about 0.2% for the week.
“The first two months of the year tend to be bullish for gold from a seasonality perspective,” said Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management Group. However, some traders who pay attention to seasonality may look to take profit come the end of February, he said.
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