Quick overview

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Gold prices dipped slightly in Asian trading on Friday as investors locked in profits following recent record highs and awaited important US inflation data that was due later in the day.

Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $4,110 an ounce, and gold futures were down $4,124. At the beginning of the week, gold prices hit an all-time high of $4,381.29/oz.

However, they fell more than 5% on Tuesday. After rallying for nine consecutive weeks due to demand for safe-haven assets amid geopolitical tensions and expectations of monetary easing, the metal was expected to drop more than 3 percent this week. Profit-taking after bullion reached all-time highs and a change in sentiment after indications of an easing of US-China tensions were the reasons for the pullback.
President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week, the White House confirmed Thursday, raising expectations of a thaw in trade relations between the two biggest economies in the world. The US consumer price index (CPI) for September, a crucial gauge of the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook, was delayed, and traders became wary of it.

Markets are pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s meeting next week, and the data, which was delayed earlier this month due to an ongoing government shutdown in America, is seen as being crucial in determining expectations. Bullion prices may be impacted by a hotter print that strengthens the dollar and Treasury yields, while a softer-than-expected CPI reading could support non-yielding gold and reinforce bets on monetary easing.

XAU/USD became costly for buyers holding other currencies on Friday as the dollar held steady and was expected to rise for the week. Analysts stated that gold’s longer-term outlook made up for the week’s losses.