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Gold futures were pulling back early Monday, after the precious metal put in the best weekly gain in six weeks. The retreat could be attributed to a perkier U.S. dollar and a rise in yields for government debt, which were more subdued last week.
December gold
GC00,
GCZ21,
was trading $4.10, or 0.3%, lower at $1,763.90 an ounce, following a 0.6% weekly gain on Friday, which represented the steepest weekly climb since the week ended Sept. 3.
The drift lower for bullion comes even as stocks across the globe were slumping, including U.S. stock-index futures, as investors struggled with the reality of higher inflation and uneven economic expansion.
Read: Global growth outlook is darkening just as the next major U.S. inflation report is about to land
The economy of one of the biggest buyers of gold also revealed further evidence of its retrenchment, weighing on precious metal’s values. GDP data on Monday showed that China’s economy grew 4.9% in the third quarter from a year prior, down steeply from the second quarter’s 7.9% rate.
“Gold continues to drift lower on Monday, extending last week’s losses despite today’s current ‘risk-off’ mood,” wrote Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades in a daily research note.
“From a technical point of view, it seems the bullish correction that led prices back to $1,800 is now over,” the analyst wrote.
“The market has had a significant sell-off following its failure to clear this psychologically and technically strong level with the price also breaking out of the lower band of its bullish channel,” the ActivTrade analyst reported, noting that the dynamic was now bearish.
Veyret sees the next support level for gold between $1,757 and $1,731, based on technical analysis.
Meanwhile, December silver SIZ21 was trading 8 cents, or 0.3%, to $23.27 an ounce, after producing a 2.8% gain last week.
Trading in precious metals come as the 10-year Treasury note yield
TMUBMUSD10Y,
was staging a new assault on 1.6%, around its highest level since June. The U.S. dollar was advancing 0.1% as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index.
Rising yields can undercut appetite for nonyielding gold and a stronger dollar can make the dollar-pegged asset comparatively more expensive to overseas buyers.
