By: Mahmoud Gamal

Mubasher: The US dollar is expected to rise this week, amid anticipations of strong economic data that will increase the possibility of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve next month; thus, pushing gold prices down.

The US dollar index (DXY) rose 0.17% to 101.12 points on Friday, while US gold futures increased 0.53% to $1,258.05.

The slight uptrend of the US dollar is likely to continue after the recently released US Federal Reserve minutes gave a positive outlook for the US economy and showed that another rate hike could be right around the corner if growth continues, Alaa El-Din Farhan, an analyst at Capital Trust, told Mubasher.

The dollar awaits new strong purchases which may push it to 103 points by the end of this week, which will witness the release of data on US GDP, Farhan added. 

The possible rise of political tension between Iran and the US will have a positive impact on gold prices and push currency investors towards profit-taking, the analyst noted.

Gold prices reached the best levels for profit-taking and decreasing positions, which stand at 1,255-1,265 points, technical analyst Mahmoud Al Tamer told Mubasher.

Gold prices are expected to decline to 1,220-1,200 points in the coming period, Al Tamer concluded.

Translated by: Julian Nabil