Bernama – The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade higher next week following the recent downtrend of 10-year US Treasury yields.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama he sees gold prices staying at elevated levels of USD2,380 to USD2,390 per troy ounce given the inverse relationship between gold prices and the 10-year US Treasury yields.
He said the market is seeking fresh leads from a series of United States Federal Reserve (Fed) speakers next week who will share their thoughts on the state of the economy. Among the speakers are Fed chairman Jerome Powell, Fed governor Christopher Waller, Fed vice-chairman Philip Jefferson and Fed vice-chairman for supervision Michael Barr.
Market players also eyeing the US Federal Open Market Committee minutes on May 22, 2024.
During this trading week, the domestic gold futures traded mostly higher due to the softer US dollar, lower US Treasury yields and the higher-than-expected US producer price index data for April.
The volume of gold futures in the local market decreased to 31 lots from 72 lots in the previous week, while open interest declined to 64 contracts from 106 contracts a week earlier.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the May 2024 contract rose to USD2,389.40 per troy ounce from USD2,380.80 per troy ounce.
Contracts for June 2024, July 2024, August 2024, and October 2024 all settled higher at USD2,399.00 per troy ounce compared to USD2,390.80 per troy ounce a week earlier.
According to the London Bullion Market Association’s afternoon fix on May 16, the price of physical gold stood at USD2,377.40 per troy ounce.
