Gold ‘escaped’ from the 15-month low

Gold closed at a more than one-week high on Thursday, boosted by a rise in the euro after the European Central Bank’s decision to raise its key interest rate by 50 basis points, which led to a halt in the dollar’s wild run and a drop in US Treasury yields.

The precious metal recovered all of Wednesday’s losses, when it closed at a more than 15-month low.

THE August delivery gold gained $13.20, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,713.40 an ounce, its highest close since July 13, according to FactSet data.

The September silver added 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.719 an ounce.

THE October platinum gained $12.20, or 1.4%, to $858.70 an ounce, while the September palladium rose $15.10, or 0.8%, to $1,876.70 an ounce.

THE September copper lost 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.2985 a pound.

Thursday’s rise in the price of gold, a safe-haven asset, came amid mixed trends in the market, after a particularly positive week for riskier assets such as stocks.

Gold had stabilized since the summer of 2020, “anticipating rate hikes from central banks to deal with the inflation that would come from the shock of the pandemic,” said Jeb Handwerger, editor of Gold Stock Trades.

Gold, the analyst notes, is not going to take off until the Federal Reserve reverses course and the dollar completes its strengthening cycle. “This could happen if there are signs of a recessionary turn in the economy.

In that case, the yellow metal could manage to break the $2,000 barrier, he concludes.