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Gold Ticks Higher as Safe-Haven Bids Offset Firm Dollar

Gold Bullion from the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX) is seen in this picture taken in New York, September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Gold Bullion from the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX) is seen in this picture taken in New York, September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Gold Ticks Higher as Safe-Haven Bids Offset Firm Dollar

Gold Bullion from the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX) is seen in this picture taken in New York, September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Gold Bullion from the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX) is seen in this picture taken in New York, September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Gold prices drifted higher Thursday as safe-haven demand countered a firmer dollar, with analysts expecting record highs for bullion, while palladium hit its highest in more than a month.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,723.10 per ounce by 0400 GMT after scaling a record high of $2,758.37 on Wednesday as US election jitters and Middle East tensions boosted demand.
US gold futures gained 0.3% to $2,736.10, Reuters reported.
The US dollar lingered near a three-month high, limiting gold's potential for a further rally. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for other currency holders.
US Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are in a tight race, with less than two weeks to go until the Nov. 5 presidential elections.
Israeli strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus and a military site near the western city of Homs killed one soldier and injured seven.
"For the rest of 2024, we see potential highs of $2,800, with 2025 targets around $3,000 or higher, driven by continued geopolitical risks, US monetary easing cycle, and central bank purchases," said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of New Delhi-based research firm SS WealthStreet.
US economic activity remained steady from September to early October, with a slight rise in hiring, hinting at a likely 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate cut soon. Lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Lower borrowing costs, stimulus measures in China, and supply constraints will continue to drive silver higher, into 2025 it could potentially climb to levels around $45, Sachdeva said.
Spot silver firmed 0.5% to $33.89 per ounce.
Palladium jumped 5.1% to $1,111.50, its highest level since Sept. 18. The US asked Group of Seven allies to consider sanctions on Russian palladium and titanium, Bloomberg News reported. Russia's Nornickel is the world's largest palladium producer.
Platinum rose 0.9% at $1,025.15.

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Oil Slumps More than 4% after Iran Downplays Israeli Strikes

Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
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Oil Slumps More than 4% after Iran Downplays Israeli Strikes

Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo
Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, US, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz/File Photo

Oil prices tumbled more than $3 a barrel on Monday after Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies, easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures hit their lowest levels since Oct. 1 at the open. By 0750 GMT, Brent was at $72.92 a barrel, down $3.13, or 4.1%, while WTI slipped $3.15, or 4.4%, to $68.63 a barrel, Reuters said.
The benchmarks gained 4% last week in volatile trade as markets priced in uncertainty around the extent of Israel's response to the Iranian missile attack on Oct. 1 and the US election next month.
Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle Eastern rivals.
The geopolitical risk premium that had built in oil prices in anticipation of Israel's retaliatory attack came off, analysts said.
"The more limited nature of the strikes, including avoiding oil infrastructure, have raised hopes for a de-escalatory pathway, which has seen the risk premium come off a few dollars a barrel," Saul Kavonic, a Sydney-based energy analyst at MST Marquee, said.
"The market will be watching closely for confirmation Iran won't counter attack in the coming weeks, which could see the risk premium rise again."
Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar expects market attention to turn to ceasefire talks between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hamas that resumed over the weekend.
"Despite Israel’s choice of a low aggression response to Iran, we have doubts that Israel and Iran’s proxies (i.e. Hamas and Hezbollah) are on track for an enduring ceasefire," he said in a note.
Citi lowered its Brent price target in the next three months to $70 a barrel from $74, factoring in a lower risk premium in the near term, its analysts led by Max Layton said in a note.
Analyst Tim Evans at US-based Evans Energy said in a note: "We think this leaves the market at least somewhat undervalued, with some risk OPEC+ producers may push back the planned increase in output targets beyond December."
In October, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, kept their oil output policy unchanged including a plan to start raising output from December. The group will meet on Dec. 1 ahead of a full meeting of OPEC+.