Gold prices down to $2,018 ounce

Gold prices dipped to $2,018 an ounce at last week’s trading, recording losses for two consecutive weeks, Dar Al-Sabaek reported on Sunday. Dar Al-Sabaek said that the positive American economic data negatively affected the price of gold as investors turned to the US market after the personal consumer spending index rose by 2.6 percent. It added that the US economy improvement lines with the expectations of economists to slow inflation pressure and thus ease the US Federal Reserve (the Central Bank) of its tough measures towards raising interest on the dollar, which leads to increased optimism in future rises for the US stock market.

The US economy has shown more flexibility despite higher borrowing costs amid expectations that the United States will make the first interest rate cut next May. Investors are awaiting the comments of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which will be released soon and could provide more information about the beginning of the interest rate reduction cycle. All these factors led to a decrease in the price of gold in global markets, as future prices of gold stabilized at $2,017 per ounce for February delivery after reaching $2,028, a clear sign of a decrease in speculative appetite in the precious metals market as the stock market recovered.

This week, data will be released on US monetary policy and labor market data amid a state of anticipation of the conflict in the Middle East and events in the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab Al-Mandab, all of which directly affect gold prices. On the local market, the report stated that the price of a gram of 24 caliber reached KD 10.13 (about $61.3), while the 22 caliber reached KD 18.4 (about $56.1), and silver closed at $270 (about $823) per kilogram.

Dollar remains stable

Meanwhile, the US dollar exchange rate against the Kuwaiti dinar was stable at KD 0.307 on Sunday, while the euro dropped 0.20 percent to KD 0.333 compared to last Thursday, said the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on Sunday. The CBK added in its online daily bulletin that the exchange rate of the Pound Sterling was stable at KD 0.390, the Swiss Franc at KD 0.355, and the Japanese Yen at KD 0.002. — KUNA