Commodity Blog

Gold futures are trading higher to start the trading week, but the yellow metal’s momentum appears to have stalled. Amid fears over a potential US-China trade war and geopolitical concerns over Syria, traders seem to be passively parking their money in the safe-haven asset.

June gold futures jumped $2.79, or 0.21%, to $1,350.70 per ounce at 15:46 GMT on Monday. Last week, gold recorded a second consecutive weekly gain of about 1%, buoyed by global risks.

The white metal is attempting to rally to kick off the trading week. May silver futures rose $0.03, or 0.19%, to $16.69 an ounce. The sister commodity to gold also reported a weekly increase of 1.5% last week.

Precious metals are getting a boost from a weaker US dollar as the greenback slipped 0.34% to 89.52. A sliding buck is good dollar-denominated commodities because foreign investors can purchase gold and silver at a smaller cost.

Investors have not been jittered as previously expected from Friday’s US-led missile strike against Syria. Traders had initially feared that the military mission, which included Great Britain and France, might escalate tensions and spur conflict with Russia, a supporter of the Syrian regime. There are calls in Washington now for President Donald Trump and his administration to establish a coalition in the Middle East.

Markets are still getting spooked by trade war reports, but they have somewhat faded in recent days.

Meanwhile, mixed economic data did support gold’s tepid rally.

The latest report shows retail sales in March had their first gain in four months. But the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for April highlighted a reversal from the previous month’s numbers. The home builders’ index for April also tumbled for the fourth straight month.

Other metal commodities were performing well on Monday. May copper futures advanced $0.03, or 1.17%, to $3.07 per pound. May platinum futures were flat at $932 per ounce. May palladium surged $19.50, or 1.95%, to $1,000.05 an ounce.

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