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Gold futures were headed slightly higher on Friday, with the precious metal attempting to finish in positive territory for the first time in four sessions and book back-to-back weekly advance.
Bullion has been buoyed this week, at least partly, by a downturn in stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
and S&P 500
SPX,
nearly erasing all of August’s gains, amid growing concerns about the economic impact of the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus.
“Gold remains offered near the $1800 per ounce, but rising volatility, and a further turmoil in equities could reverse the sentiment and trigger important gains in the yellow metal,” wrote Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst, at Swissquote.
On Friday December gold
GCZ21,
was trading $3.80, or 0.2%, at $1,786.90 an ounce, after slipping 0.1% on Thursday. Some analysts see $1,790 as a resistance price for bullion that it has struggled to overcome recently.
Amplifying the concerns about the economy has been fears that the Federal Reserve will begin unwinding parts of their easy-money programs later this year, despite the uncertainty stemming from the renewed spread of COVID.
Meanwhile, silver for September delivery
SIU21,
is off 3 cents, or 0.1%, at $23.20 an ounce, and headed for its fourth straight loss, following a 0.9% decline on Thursday.
For the week, silver is on track for a weekly decline of 2.4%, its third straight; meanwhile, gold futures are aiming for a weekly advance of 0.5%, its second in a row.
