Gold price rises as Asian stocks, dollar slip after oil slump
London (May 26) Gold hit a more than one-week high on Friday, as the dollar retreated and Asian stocks slipped with investors shying away from riskier assets following a tumble in oil prices.
Oil prices edged up but markets remained on the back foot following a 5 percent slump in the previous session after an extension of output curbs by OPEC and other producing nations left investors hoping for bigger cuts disappointed.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,262.89 per ounce by 0832 GMT after touching a high of $1,264.13 earlier in the session. The yellow metal has gained 0.6 percent so far this week.
U.S. gold futures gained 0.5 percent to $1,262.9 an ounce.
Gold has just moved sideways in the $1,245-$1,265 range over the past few sessions, said Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore, adding that: "Investors are looking for cues on the U.S. Federal Reserve rate hikes and the upcoming UK elections."
"People are still waiting to see whether there is a clear direction for gold to move. Until then gold will continue to move sideways."
Gold is used as an alternative investment during times of political and financial uncertainty.
The big data points for the day will be the Q1 GDP figures from the United States as well as the durable goods figures, said Jordan Eliseo, chief economist at ABC Bullion.
"We did issue a buy recommendation on gold some two days ago and will stick with that for the time being, especially considering how well the complex held up in Thursday's session against a variety of headwinds," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.
In the wider markets, Asian stocks slipped on Friday with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which closed at a two-year high on Thursday, falling 0.1 percent.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.2 percent and last traded at 97.090.
Among other precious metals, spot silver was up 0.6 percent at $17.23, platinum was 0.5 percent higher at $951.50, while palladium rose $0.5 percent to $775.10.
Silver has risen about 2.7 percent this week and is on track to mark its biggest weekly rise since mid-April. Platinum is up 1.2 percent for the week and is set to notch its third straight weekly rise.
Palladium has gained 1.8 percent this week and is on track for its first weekly gain this month.
Source: Reuters
