Gold price set for first monthly decline since March

Gold prices edged higher on Monday as the US dollar weakened, although record-high equities capped bullion’s gains and set it for its first monthly decline since March.

Spot gold advanced 0.4% to $1,971.90 per ounce by 12:10 p.m. EDT after touching a two-week high of $1,976.05 earlier in the session. US gold futures inched up 0.2% to $1,980.20 per ounce on the Comex in New York.

For the month of August, the precious metal was down 0.2% despite rallying to an all-time high of $2,072.90 during the earlier part of the period.

“The weaker dollar and the anticipation that we are going to get a further dollar weakness has led to some small increases (in gold),” Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments, told Reuters. The US dollar fell to its lowest since May 2018 against other major currencies.

Meanwhile, world stocks hovered near record highs as investors bet on continued central bank monetary support to reinvigorate the global economy.

However, “there is a significant concern that the (equities) market might have gotten extended and there might be some profit taking coming, which may lead to a rotation back to gold,” Sica said.

Gold has gained about 29% so far this year, supported by rising economic uncertainty stemming from the covid-19 pandemic as well as the upcoming US elections.

Last week, the US Federal Reserve said it would adopt an average inflation target, meaning rates are likely to stay low even if inflation rises a bit in the future, which could serve as further impetus for bullion.

(With files from Reuters)