Gold futures edged higher Tuesday, buoyed amid jitters over the Middle East and a weaker U.S. dollar as the yellow metal prepared to ring out its strongest year since 2010.
Gold for February delivery GCG20, +0.25% was up $4.30, or 0.3%, at $1,522.90 an ounce, while March silver SIH20, -0.20% rose 4.9 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.05 an ounce.
Gold is on track for a 19% 2019 gain, while silver is up around 16.2% since the end of last year. Based on trade in most-active futures contracts, that would be the strongest performance for both metals since 2010, when gold rose 29.7% and silver surged nearly 84%, according to FactSet.
“Gold is receiving an undercurrent of support into year-end from lower U.S. bond yields, persistent geopolitical risks, and ongoing U.S. economic uncertainty,” said Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader, in a note.
“But with the weaker U.S. dollar narrative gathering steam into the election year 2020, risk hedgers are starting to flock to the security of gold rather than the dollar,” he said.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.28%, a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was off 0.4% at 96.365, leaving it up just 0.2% on the year. A weaker dollar is seen as a positive for commodities priced in the currency, making them less expensive to users of other currencies.
Investors were also keeping an eye on developments in Iraq, where dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, part of a backlash over weekend U.S. airstrikes that targeted the Iran-backed militia.
In other metals trade, April platinum PLJ20, +2.08% rose 2% to $985.40 an ounce, while March palladium PAH20, +0.52% was up 0.6% at $1,892.30 an ounce.
March copper HGH20, -0.81% fell 0.9% to $2.8085 a pound.
2019-12-31 14:15:00Z
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-higher-on-track-for-strongest-year-since-2010-2019-12-31
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