KUALA LUMPUR

Gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is likely to be range-bound with an upside bias for the week ahead as traders may opt for the precious safe haven asset, post 14th General Election (GE14) and over the Iran nuclear deal announcement, said dealers.

FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga said however, the prospect of heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following US President Donald Trump’s departure from the nuclear deal was seen as an encouragement for risk aversion.

“A risk-off environment is likely to attract the flight to safety mindset from traders, where both gold and the Japanese yen would be seen as potential beneficiaries,” he said, adding that gold remained vulnerable to downside losses, especially when considering how the dollar strength remained a dominant market theme.

Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd dealer Leo Goh Boon Hao told Bernama that Bursa Malaysia gold futures ended unchanged on Tuesday, ahead of GE14 and over the Iran nuclear deal announcement.

A weakening ringgit has made Bursa Malaysia gold more attractive to foreign investors.

OANDA head of trading in AsiaPacific Stephen Innes said a slightly weaker US dollar and heightened geopolitical risks had pumped gold higher overnight.

The Bursa Malaysia Gold Futures market was closed on Wednesday for the 14th general election, as well as, on Thursday and Friday to observe special public holidays announced by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa over Pakatan Harapan’s win.

The market was higher on Monday and was untraded on Tuesday.

On a Tuesday-to-Friday basis, May 2018, June 2018, July 2018, and August 2018 rose 12 ticks each to RM167.0, RM167.1, RM167.5, and RM167.6 per gramme, respectively.

Weekly turnover eased to seven lots worth RM116,910 from 11 lots worth RM348,765 from the previous week, while open interest rose to 49 contracts from the previous Friday’s 45 contracts.