Gold climbed to $2,680 per ounce on Friday, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains and positioning it for a nearly 5% weekly rise as investors sought safe-haven assets amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
Geopolitical tensions boost gold price
Earlier in the week, Ukraine fired a second Western-supplied missile into Russia, prompting a retaliatory launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by Russia on Thursday, as reported by Kyiv’s air force. At the same time, markets evaluated the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook following an unexpected drop in US jobless claims, fueling speculation of a more measured pace of rate cuts by the Fed.
Eyes on Fed moves
Traders also considered comments from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who indicated that interest rates might move "a fair bit lower" and expressed optimism about inflation nearing its target. A majority of the market continues to anticipate a 25 basis point rate cut in December, a move that would reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like gold.
