BULLION LATEST 05/12: Gold price range-bound on lack of fresh catalyst

The spot gold price was quoted at $1,275.30-1,275.60 per oz as of 03.58am London time, down by $1.05 from Monday’s close. Trade has ranged from $1,274.85-1,277.05 so far today.

• “The fundamental environment for gold and silver is weak in the short term. The gold price should stay under pressure this week should there be a lack of political factors to boost it. But in the medium and long term, the gold price could rebound after the impact of a US rate hike in December is digested by the market,” China’s Ruida Futures said late on Thursday.
• The US Federal Open Market Committee will meet on December 12-13 to decide on its monetary policy, with market participants expecting an increase in US interest rates at the meeting.
• The upside for the yellow metal was capped after the dollar rose and equities market cheered in response to the US Senate passing its tax reform bill on Sunday. A House-Senate conference committee will now work to resolve the differences between the House and Senate tax bills.

Silver, PGMs

• In the other precious metals, the spot silver price rose by $0.005 to $16.32-16.36 per oz. Platinum was unchanged at $925-930 per oz and palladium was up by $5 at $998-1,003 per oz.
• On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for June delivery was recently at 277.65 yuan ($41.94) per gram, and the June silver contract was at 3,847 yuan per kg.

Currency moves and data releases

• The dollar index fell 0.02% to 93.07 as of 03.59am London time.
• In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price rose by 0.11% to $62.50 per barrel as of 04.02am London time.
• In equities, the Shanghai Composite was up by 0.06% to 3,311.60.
• In Chinese data on Tuesday, the Caixin services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for November came in at 51.9, higher than expectations of 51.5 and up from 51.2 in October.
• “New business expanded at a rapid pace while input costs and prices charged continued to rise… The Caixin PMI readings in November showed the economy has maintained stability and there was no imminent risk of a significant decline in its growth rate,” Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, said.
• In data from Monday, UK construction PMI for November came in at 53.1, above forecast of 51.2. US factory orders fell 0.1% in October – compared to growth of 1.7% in the previous month – but beat the forecast of a 0.3% decline.
• A string of services PMI data from across Europe and the United States, as well as ISM non-manufacturing PMI and PBD/TIPP economic optimism from the US.
• The US non-farm employment report due Friday will also be closely watched by investors.