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Gold futures traded slightly lower Friday, heading for the longest losing skid in more than two months after the monthly U.S. employment report helped to solidify a rally in equities and away from so-called havens, as Middle East tensions ease.
“Despite the recent US and Iran airstrikes, risk appetite has been largely restored,” wrote Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM in a Friday research note. He said “gold has erased all of its gains to trade below the psychological $1550 level.”
February gold GCG20, -0.01% on Comex was down $2.60, or 0.2%, at $1,551.60 an ounce, after falling 0.4% in the prior session. A third decline on Friday would mark its longest string of losses since a four-session decline ended Nov. 12, according to FactSet data. The reversal for gold over the week also comes after it hit a 2013 peak at $1,613.30.
For the week, gold is on track to decline of less than 0.1%, but perhaps more telling is gold’s nearly 4.4% peak-to-trough move over the week.
Meanwhile, equity markets, which often move in the opposite direction of gold, were surging, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.16%, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.24% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.31% all aiming for new all-time highs on Friday.
The backsliding in the precious commodity and jump in stocks over the five-session stretch follows a lessening of Middle East tensions that has restored risk appetite and produced a major drag on precious metals.
On Wednesday President Donald Trump delivered remarks that underscored a move toward peace after a late-Tuesday Iranian airstrike on U.S. air bases in Iraq in an apparent retaliation for the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani a week ago. Separately, A Chinese envoy is set to go to Washington on Monday through Wednesday to firm up a phase-one trade agreement.
Gold prices briefly jumped into positive territory after the release of the December employment report, which showed the U.S. economy created a smaller-than-expected 145,000 jobs in the final month of 2019, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.5%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast, on average, a rise of 165,000, with Wall Street expecting a drop-off after a surprisingly robust 256,000 gain in November.
March silver SIH20, +0.44%, meanwhile, added 4 cents, or 0.3%, to trade at $17.980 an ounce, on track for a weekly slide of 1%.
March copper HGH20, +0.07% was 0.1% lower at $2.798 a pound. April platinum PLJ20, +0.50% rose $4, or 0.4%, at $975.80 an ounce, after gaining 0.9% in the previous session. The white metal, however, has lost 1.5% for the week.
Meanwhile, Palladium looked set to end the week at or near records. March palladium PAH20, +0.55% was headed $13, or 0.6%, higher at $2,072.20 an ounce, with a weekly gain of 6%.
