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Gold Holds Ground on Safe-haven Demand, US Rate Optimism

Ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/FILE PHOTO Purchase Licensing Rights
Ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/FILE PHOTO Purchase Licensing Rights
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Gold Holds Ground on Safe-haven Demand, US Rate Optimism

Ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/FILE PHOTO Purchase Licensing Rights
Ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/FILE PHOTO Purchase Licensing Rights

Gold prices were steady on Friday, after rising more than 1% in the previous session, as persistent geopolitical tensions and optimism surrounding US interest rate cuts supported bullion.

Spot gold held its ground at $2,426.00 per ounce, as of 0203 GMT, after registering its best day since July 16 on Thursday.

Bullion, however, headed for a weekly decline and has lost as much as 3% so far this week, after investors liquidated positions in tandem with a broader equities selloff.

According to Reuters, Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly confident that inflation is cooling enough to allow interest rate cuts ahead, and they will take their cues on the size and timing of those rate cuts not from stock market turmoil but from the economic data, according to a shared message of three US central bankers on Thursday.

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Oil Set for 3% Weekly Gain on Rising Mideast Tension, Better US Outlook

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
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Oil Set for 3% Weekly Gain on Rising Mideast Tension, Better US Outlook

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, US, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant

Oil prices edged up in Asian trade on Friday, heading for a weekly gain of more than 3%, as US jobs data calmed demand concerns and fears of a widening Middle East conflict persisted.
Brent crude futures rose 9 cents, or 0.11%, to $79.25 a barrel by 0406 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 12 cents at $76.31 per barrel.
Both Brent and WTI were set to gain more than 3% on a weekly basis.
Israeli forces stepped up airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, Palestinian medics said, in further battle with Hamas-led group as Israel braced for potential wider war in the region.
"Crude oil continued its recovery from its recent plunge as elevated geopolitical risks came into focus," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.
The killing last week of senior members of the Hamas and Hezbollah groups had raised the possibility of retaliatory strikes by Iran against Israel, stoking concerns over oil supply from the world's largest producing region.
Iran-aligned Houthi militants continued attacks this week on international shipping near Yemen, in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.
On Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of an incident near the coast of Mokha, a port city in Yemen.
Lending further support to prices, Libya's National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at its Sharara oilfield from Wednesday, the company said in a statement, adding that it had gradually reduced the field's output because of protests.
Sentiment in the United States was buoyed after data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting fears that the labor market was unraveling were overblown and easing recession concerns.
The dollar rose on the jobs data. A stronger dollar usually tends to lower oil prices, however, as buyers using other currencies have to pay more for their dollar-denominated crude.
In China, July consumer price index figures showed no sign of a pick-up in consumer demand, despite consumption-boosting incentives.
Prices rose last month at a rate slightly faster than expected, Friday's data showed, but that was largely because of weather disruptions that affected food supplies.
Markets in key oil trading hub Singapore were closed for a public holiday.