BULLION LATEST 28/12: Gold prices up after US bond yields fall

The spot gold price was quoted at $1,289.30-1,289.60 per oz as of 03:39 BST, up $1.75 from the previous session’s close. Trade has ranged from $1,287.20-1,290.00 so far today.

“Gold was given a boost overnight as yields fell in theUS despite lower than usual bid-to-cover levels for the US Treasury auctions and a slightly weaker dollar. It has seen gold march up and closes at the 100-day moving average (DMA) in yet another positive technical development,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.

“Volumes and liquidity of gold remain at lower than average levels due to the holiday season making movements more outsize then they would otherwise have been. Traders and investors appear to be scaling back shorts with the passing of the US tax reform and some yearend event risk hedging,” he added.

Silver, PGMs
In the other precious metals, the spot silver price rose $0.067 to $16.710-16.735 per oz. Platinum increased $4 to $919-924 per oz and palladium gained $3 to $1,061-1,066 per oz.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for June delivery was recently at 278.10 yuan ($41.19) per gram, and the June silver was at 3,885 yuan per kg.

Currency moves and data releases

• The dollar index was down by 0.08% at 92.93 as of 11:00am Shanghai time.
• In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price was up 0.21% at $66.08 per barrel while the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price inched up 0.19% to $59.74.
• In equities, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.48% to 3,291.34.
• In data, the US Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index was 122.1, lower than the projected 128.2 and the pending home sales month on month change for November showed an increase of 0.2%, better than the expected decrease of 0.4%.
• In data today, US unemployment claims and goods trade balance numbers are due out. Natural gas storage and crude oil inventory figures are also expected today.