Gold Achieves Its Seventh Consecutive Week in the Green Zone
Gold maintained its upward momentum at the close of trading on Friday, October 3, marking its seventh consecutive week in the profit zone. This performance was supported by rising expectations of an additional cut in U.S. interest rates amid increasing concerns about the economic repercussions of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Spot gold rose by 0.1% to settle at $3859.09 per ounce, after touching its all-time high of $3896.49 on Thursday. Thus, the precious metal achieved weekly gains of 2.5%. U.S. futures contracts for December delivery also increased by 0.4% to reach $3882.40 per ounce.
Tim Waterer, senior market analyst at KCM Trade, commented on this performance, saying: "The rise of the dollar has slightly slowed the pace of gold's ascent, but the metal is still very close to the $3900 per ounce level."
Several factors are driving the continuation of the upward trend in gold, as recent U.S. economic data has strengthened expectations for an additional interest rate cut this year. Traders are betting on a nearly certain cut of 25 basis points this month, according to the FedWatch tool that tracks central bank policy.
The ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which entered its third day on Friday, is also seen as a factor increasing uncertainty, especially with the possibility of delaying the release of important economic data. Lori Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, stated that the decision to cut rates last month was a "suitable precautionary step" to avoid any severe deterioration in the labor market, emphasizing the "need for caution in any further rounds of monetary easing."
Financial institutions have shown cautious optimism regarding gold's performance outlook, as HSBC predicted in a note released on Friday that gold could rise to over $4000 per ounce in the near term. The bank noted that "the increases could continue until 2026, supported by purchases from the official sector, and institutional demand for gold as a diversification source could remain strong."
In turn, UBS indicated in a note released on Tuesday that gold markets are now leaning toward a bullish scenario, expecting the price to rise to $4200 per ounce by mid-2026. The bank identified factors including a weak U.S. dollar, strong gold purchases by central banks, and increased investments in exchange-traded funds.
Regarding the performance of other precious metals, spot silver saw an increase of 0.6% to reach $47.24 per ounce, while platinum fell by 0.1% to $1566.90. In contrast, palladium rose by 0.6% to reach $1248.40 per ounce.
