BULLION LATEST 27/10: Gold price little changed amid dollar strength

The spot gold price was quoted at $1,267.15-1,267.50 per oz as of 04:52 BST, up $0.72 from the previous session’s close. Trade has ranged from $1,265.25-1,268.15 so far today – the low end of the range is the lowest since October 6.

• The dollar strengthened on Friday morning as the euro slumped to three-month lows after the European Central Bank (ECB) extended its bond purchases and reduced the probability that it would raise interest rates next year.
• “Although the ECB’s policy announcement was as expected, the euro nonetheless fell 1% vs USD in response to the dovish undertone – as well as positive developments regarding [US President Donald] Trump’s tax-cutting proposals,” ANZ Research noted.
• The stronger dollar has kept gold prices under pressure this morning.
• The dollar index was up by 0.04% at 94.77 as of 05:33 BST – the index had reached as high as 94.87 earlier in the session, its highest since July 20.
• “How gold finishes the week will now be entirely at the whim of the US dollar and US yields with little to no geopolitical safe haven premium left in the price,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said on Friday.

Silver, PGMs

• In the other precious metals, the spot silver price rose $0.015 to $16.745-16.785 per oz. Platinum increased $1 to $914-919 per oz and palladium gained $3 to $967-972 per oz.
• On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for December delivery was recently at 274.05 yuan ($41.19) per gram, and the December silver was at 3,848 yuan per kg.

Currency moves and data releases

• The dollar index was up by 0.04% at 94.77 as of 05:33.
• In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price decreased by 0.13% to $59.32 per barrel and the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price was down by 0.17% to $52.61 per barrel.
• In equities, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.34% to 3,419.31.
• In US data on Thursday, unemployment claims came in around expectations at 233,000, while September wholesale inventories rose by 0.3% against an estimated 0.4%.
• The economic agenda is fairly light today with German import prices and US data that includes US advanced gross domestic product (GDP) and revised University of Michigan consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.