(Bloomberg) - Gold steadied near the highest in almost nine months as poor company earnings and layoffs heightened concerns of a recession.
European stocks and US futures edged higher on Friday after slumping in the previous session as job cuts and profit warnings from several major firms soured sentiment. Gold surged on Thursday amid the bearish mood, and is now on track for a weekly gain.
The metal has been rallying since early November on signs the Federal Reserve was turning less hawkish, spurring declines in the dollar and Treasury yields. Traders are monitoring US data for signs the economy is weakening, which could force the central bank to cut rates later this year.
Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard, considered a policy dove, said rates in the US will need to stay high for a period to cool inflation, while European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde vowed no let-up in efforts to return price gains to within the 2% target. In Japan, inflation hit 4% for the first time in more than four decades.
Economic data from the US this week has painted a mixed picture. Jobless claims unexpectedly fell to the lowest since September, data showed Thursday, underscoring the strength of the labor market. That came after figures earlier in the week that showed drops in retail sales and producer-price inflation.
“Gold is overbought and needs to correct,” Rhona O’Connell, an analyst at StoneX, wrote in a note. “The $2,000 mark is on the relatively distant horizon, but if it were to be attained in the near future then it would almost certainly be a case of ‘blink and you miss it.’”
Spot gold declined 0.3% to $1,927.43 an ounce as of 1:32 p.m. in London, putting it on course to finish the week 0.4% higher. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index strengthened 0.3%. Silver rose, while platinum and palladium fell.
By Jason Scott and Eddie Spence
