Gold price edges higher on rising geopolitical tensions 

Gold prices edged higher during Asian trading hours on Tuesday April 11 – rising geopolitical tensions buoyed haven demand for the yellow metal, while US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s comments on gradual US interest rates rises had a limited impact.

The spot gold price was recently quoted at $1,256.15-1,256.45 per oz, up $0.45 on the previous session’s close. Trade has ranged from $1,253.25 to $1,257.15 so far.

Rising tensions over North Korea and the Middle East following a US airstrike on a Syrian air base and uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming French election have buoyed haven demand for the yellow metal.

Yellen said in a speech on Monday that the Fed is now aiming to lift US interest rates gradually in order to sustain healthy growth.

Her comments provided mild support to the dollar – the dollar index inched up 0.07% to 101.5 as of 03:19 BST – capping some of gold’s gains.

“Key support still lies at the $1240 region with the 200-day moving average above lying at $258 this morning. Rallies above $1260 could be hard to sustain, as gold lacks momentum from a technical perspective,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said on Tuesday.

In the other precious metals, the spot silver price was flat at $17.925-17.965 per oz. Platinum rose $4 to $940-945 per oz and palladium was up $3.5 at $788-793 per oz.

On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for June delivery was recently at 282.4 yuan ($40.86) per gram, and the June silver was at 4,156 yuan per kilogram.

Currency moves and data releases

In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price rose 0.02% to $55.99 per barrel while the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price dip 0.13% to $53.05.

In equities, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.24% to 3,261.54.

In data, the USA’s labour market conditions index rose to 0.4 in March compared with a revised gain of 1.5 in February.

UK March CPI and PPI, EU monthly industrial production and US JOLTS job openings are due later.

In addition, US Federal Open Market Committee member Neel Kashkari is speaking.

Source: fastmarkets

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