(RightIsRight.co) – Displacing other precious metals from the market, safe-haven gold prices reached an unprecedented high this week, marking a fourth consecutive weekly gain due to geopolitical risks and economic concerns centered around the communist country of China.
At 0934 GMT, spot gold was up 0.9 % at $2,394.87 per ounce, having hit a record high of $2,400.35 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures also gained 1.6%, reaching $2,411.70.
Senior Analyst at ActivTrades Ricardo Evangelista highlighted the potential for further increases in gold prices due to central bank purchases and increased demand for safe-haven assets amid growing investor anxiety over escalating geopolitical conflicts.
Doubts about “the Chinese economy feeds into worries about growth of the global economy and this also compounds the market sentiment of seeking safe-haven assets,” he added.
The rеcent airstrike on Iran’s Embassy compound in Damascus, couplеd with existing tensions from the Gaza war, has contributed to increased regional and global instability.
Oil prices rosе by 2 % on Friday, with Brent crude futurеs up to $91.93 a barrel and U.S. West Tеxas Intermediate crude futures rising to $87.44.
This increase is driven by tеnsion in the Middle East, which raised the risk of supply disruptions, offsetting reduced expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts this year.
In addition, Vietnam’s central bank announced plans to boost gold bar supplies to stabilize the market, while China’s central bank added more gold to its reserves in March.
Investors are closely monitoring data that indicates China’s March exports and imports decreased. This underscores the challenges policymakers faced in bolstering a fragile economic recovery.
Spot silver rose by 2.3 % to $29.13 per ounce and reached its highest level since early 2021, while Market Analyst at Kinesis Money Frank Watson noted that gold’s strength seems to have positively impacted silver prices.
Platinum rose by 1.8 % to $997.51, and palladium edged 1.1 % higher to $1,058.00, with all three metals on track for a weekly gain.
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