Latest gold, forex rates in UAE: Gold sees first drop in 3 weeks

Dubai-UAE (Apr 17)  Gold rose on Friday after three days of declines as the US dollar and major stock markets weakened, but bullion saw its first weekly drop in three.

Spot gold was up 0.4 per cent at $1,231.96 an ounce by 10.50pm UAE time. It lost 0.6 per cent for the week.

US gold futures for June delivery settled up 0.7 per cent at $1,234.60 per ounce.

Last Thursday morning, Dubai gold prices fell to Dh114.50 per gram for 18K gold and Dh148.75/g for 24K even as prices recovered to Dh115/g for 18K and Dh149.40/g for 24K by the end of the trading week on Friday.

Gold prices have steadied after posting their biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30 years in the first quarter, driven by a reining in of expectations that the US Federal Reserve will push ahead with several interest rate increases this year.

“We are seeing central banks having separation anxiety with their stimulus policies and so much stimulus tends to devalue currencies and that's the follow through from negative real rates,” ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold said.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said the Fed seems to be on track for at least two interest rate increases over the rest of the year. A Reuters poll showed the Fed will raise rates twice this year, most likely beginning in June.

Higher interest rates would lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets while boosting the dollar.

Assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to a one-month low on Thursday.

Source: emirates247