Precious metals slump, investors focus on Central Bank’s intervention

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Spot gold went slightly lower, trading at $1,711.57 per ounce by 4 am local time on Friday morning and gold futures was down to $1,717.10.

“Gold collapsed like a house of cards as investors overlooked civil unrest in the United States and heavily focused on hopes around central bank intervention and economic recovery,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

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Gold fall on Friday morning also came as global investors await the release of Friday’s U.S (United States.) non-farm payrolls data for May, scheduled to be released at 1.30 pm Nigerian local time.

“There are quite a few market participants still bargain-hunting gold given the fundamental backdrop of the coronavirus crisis and ongoing recession,” Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said.

(READ MORE: Gold prices surge by 17.4% in 2 months due to global economic crisis)

However, investors are still waiting to see whether the easing of restrictions will lead to a second wave of infections, supporting demand for gold, Menke added.

What you need to know about Precious metals: Precious metals include gold, silver, and platinum. Gold and silver are the most popular metals, and have been used by jewelers, and as wealth status symbols since ancient times. Global investors use precious metals to hedge against inflation.

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Meanwhile, palladium gained 0.34% to $1,947 an ounce, while platinum lost 0.31% to $833.91. Silver was down 0.63% to $17.9 4am local time, having hit a more than three-month high of $18.36 on Monday. 

“Some people are buying silver just because it’s much cheaper than gold (or) platinum,” a trader from Tokyo-based retailer Tokuriki Honten said.