Gold hit the $ 1,800 mark

With small gains at the last minute, gold futures closed the session as prolonged concern about the Omicron variant and the fall of the dollar boosted the gold, which managed to catch the $ 1,800 cushion again.

Gold futures for February delivery were up 0.8% at $ 1,802.20 an ounce.

Although analysts downplayed the impact of the new mutation, more countries announced restrictions to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant, somewhat curbing sentiment for more risky assets.

There is some buying interest from a slight decline in US bond and dollar yields, said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals, as he attributed the rise to a “corrective recovery.”

While Omicron fears are likely to begin to subside in the market, it is still positive for gold because it will allow traders to focus on other things such as rising inflation and a clearer monetary policy from the US Federal Reserve, Wyckoff added. . The dollar index fell, boosting the impact of gold on foreign buyers, while US bond yields also fell.

Investors also took stock of data showing US economic growth slowed sharply in the third quarter amid rising COVID-19 infections, although activity has since risen, putting the economy on track for its best performance since 1984.

In general, however, “with trading volume low and key players away in anticipation of the new year, the gold market is expected to be volatile,” Phillip Futures analyst Avtar Sandu said in a note.

In other metals, silver gained 0.6% to $ 22.62 an ounce, platinum rose 1.5% to $ 948.14 an ounce and palladium rose 3% to $ 1,846.68 an ounce.