Gold prices hover near six-week highs on Monday in weak trading as safe-haven purchases fueled by an Omicron-induced surge in coronavirus infections counteract pressure from higher US Treasury yields.
Gold prices remain flat in weak trades
Spot gold was trading at $1,822.76 at the time of writing, after hitting $1,831.62 at the start of the session, its highest since November 22, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.28% at $1,823.50. fell to the dollar. Jigar Trivedi, commodities analyst at Mumbai-based broker Anand Rathi Shares, comments:
The number of Omicron cases is undoubtedly increasing, which supports gold. But at the same time, it’s not as severe as the Delta variant. That is why gold prices do not rise so sharply.
Trading remains weak as most markets are still closed and gold is fluctuating in the $1,815 to $1,830 range. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields ended 2021 with the biggest yield increase since 2013. Higher interest rates increased the opportunity cost of holding interest-free gold, while DXY, which held its one-month lows touched on Friday, supported demand for gold by making the precious metal cheaper for buyers of other currencies.
Phillip Futures analyst Avtar Sandu said in a note that the focus on the Ukraine-Russia border has brought investor attention back to gold as a safe-haven and the weaker dollar provides further support for the yellow metal. Cryptocoin. com
As we reported , in a statement from the White House, US President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Washington and its allies will “respond decisively” if Russia interferes further in Ukraine.