Commodity Blog

Gold futures are rallying to end the trading week as the US dollar tumbled from new developments into the Russian investigation. With gold posting more gains, the yellow metal is on track for a small weekly advance.

December gold futures surged $7.30, or 0.57%, to $1,285.60 per ounce at 14:51 GMT on Friday. Gold prices are poised for a modest weekly gain of 0.3%, continuing the trend of consecutive weekly advances.

Silver, the sister commodity to gold, is trading relatively flat to finish off the trading week. December silver futures rose a tepid $0.008, or 0.05%, to $17.08 an ounce. The white metal is also getting ready to record a weekly gain of 0.1%.

The US dollar declined 0.10%, which is a boon for dollar-denominated commodities because it makes it cheaper for foreign investors to purchase.

The greenback weakened on reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is requesting Russia-related documents from about a dozen top officials inside of the White House. Investors are concerned that this will place a greater strain on the Republicans in getting key pro-business legislation passed, including the GOP’s Tax Cut and Jobs Act.

But the lower US dollar will unlikely dissuade the Federal Reserve from pulling the trigger on a rate hike at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting. A string of US central bank officials have said this week that a course of modest increases to interest rates is the correct path to take for the Fed to normalize monetary policy.

According to the CME Group FedWatch tool, there is a 92% chance of a rate hike. Some analysts argue, however, that the Fed will hold back on a rate hike, waiting for more economic data to come in and policy decisions from the White House.

Gold is generally sensitive to a rising-rate environment because it lifts the opportunity cost and sends traders into yield-bearing investments.

If you have any questions and comments on the commodities today, use the form below to reply.