Precious Metals Down Amid Upbeat US Data

Gold posted steep declines on Friday (26 Feb.), falling as upbeat data from the US renewed optimism over the strength of the country’s economy and raised concerns that the Federal Reserve might return on the path of raising interest rates in 2016, driving the Dollar much higher.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for delivery in April settled at $1,220.40 a troy ounce by the end of Friday’s trade, slipping $18.40, or 1.49% compared to Thursday’s close, as data revealed the US economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.0% in the last quarter of the previous year, beating initial expectations for a 0.7% rise. In the meantime, the likelihood of a rate hike happening as soon as June climbed from 17.7% to 32.2% prior to the optimistic data release, while the Dollar Index added 0.71% on Friday to finish at 98.13, the highest close since February 3. Over the course of the whole trading week, gold futures also did not manage to tack on, closing 0.84%, or $6.30,lower compared to the previous week’s end price, sliding for the second consecutive week,despite being up nearly 15% so far this year on the back of indications that the current situation in the global economy could make it tough for the Fed to lift rates in 2016.

Silver futures for March delivery sank on Friday, settling 48.1 cents, or 3.17%, lower at $14.68 a troy ounce on the Comex by the end of trade. On the week, silver prices shed as much as 4.48%, or 67.6 cents, posting the second weekly decline over the past six weeks.

Platinum also dropped on Friday, with metal’s futures for April delivery falling $12.30, or 1.3%, to settle at $914.70 per ounce. Over the prior trading week, prices finished 3.23% lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Palladium plummeted to $480.65 an ounce on Friday, down $2.75 from the Thursday's close. In light of this drop, on the week prices of the metal ticked down, slipping as much as 3.46% on the New York Mercantile Exchange.