Mubasher TV
Contact Us Advertising   العربية

Gold rallies on dim industrial China figures

Gold rallies on dim industrial China figures

Mubasher: Gold prices rose on Thursday as Asian stocks retreated, after weaker-than-expected economic figures from China gave a boost to safe-haven buying, according to Reuters.

By 9:36 am GMT, spot gold rose by 0.44% to $1,470.09 per ounce, while US gold futures climbed by 0.45% to $1,469.90 per ounce.

Asian equity markets turned lower after China’s industrial production growth lost pace last October, as global and domestic demand stuttered on the back of protracted trade conflict with the US, while retail sales growth hovered close to a 16-year trough, with fixed asset investment (FAI) posting the weakest level on record.

On the trade front, Chinese Commerce Ministry said that removing tariffs was a key condition for clinching a trade pact with the US.

This came one day after US President Donald Trump warned that he would ramp up duties on Chinese goods if Washington and Beijing could not hammer out a trade deal.

As far as the monetary policy is concerned, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said the interest rate cuts sought by President Trump are not appropriate for the world’s top economy in the meantime.

“Investors are stuck with rising trade tensions with Trump threatening additional tariffs again, but what’s weighing on gold is the hawkish stance from the Fed overnight, saying rate cuts are on hold for now,” ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes was quoted by Reuters.

In Hong Kong, protests paralysed parts of the city state for the fourth day running, prompting schools to shut down, with highways and other transport links blocked.

However, “in the long term, the backdrop is pretty conducive [to support gold] with the global central banks being accommodative,” Hynes said.