Gold prices advanced on Wednesday to a fresh five-week high as banking-sector worries resurfaced with shares of Credit Suisse plunging, reigniting fears about the U.S. banking-sector contagion going global and pushing investors to anticipate a policy pivot from the Federal Reserve.
Price action
- Gold futures for April delivery GC00, +0.92% GCJ23, +0.92% gained $17, or 0.9%, to $1,928 per ounce on Comex.
- Silver futures for May SI00, +1.13% SIK23, +1.13% gained 35 cents, or 1.6%, to $22.40 per ounce.
- Palladium for June PAM23, -3.27% fell by $63, or 4.2%, to $1,454 per ounce, while platinum for April PLJ23, -3.59% declined by $32, or 3.2%, to $965 per ounce.
- Copper for May delivery HGK23, -2.84% fell by 13 cents, or 3.2%, to $3.88 per pound.
Market drivers
Investors shrugged off a spate of U.S. economic data released Wednesday, including a report on wholesale prices that showed they declined 0.1% during the month of February, as banking-sector fears took center stage once again.
“Gold and silver prices are sharply up in early U.S. trading Wednesday, with both metals scoring five-week highs, on keen safe-haven demand. Fears of a global banking/financial crisis are growing at mid-week,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com.
Traders also again adjusted their expectations for how aggressive the Federal Reserve might be in shifting to cutting interest-rates later this year, which helped to weigh on Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar, while boosting gold.
This article was originally published by Marketwatch.com. Read the original article here.
