Gold prices rose today, Friday, supported by a weaker dollar, and are set to achieve their largest weekly gains since mid-November, as the global banking crisis has driven investors towards the metal seen as a safe haven.
By 03:13 GMT, spot gold was up 0.5% to $1928.08 per ounce. U.S. gold futures increased 0.5% to $1932.10.
The yellow metal has risen about 3.2% since the start of the week, on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, bolstered by demand for safe havens following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the largest banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis.
Among other precious metals, silver in spot transactions was up 0.9% to $21.89 per ounce, platinum increased 0.8% to $980.33, and palladium rose 0.9% to $1443.80.
All three metals are set to achieve weekly gains, with silver expected to have its best week since early December.
According to the global macroeconomic head at Tasty, Ilya Spivak, the banking crisis appears to support gold as it has led to a general sense that central banks might backtrack on interest rate hikes amid market risks and credit pressures.
However, the European Central Bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points yesterday, as concerns over rising inflation outweighed worries about a global banking crisis.
Federal Reserve officials are expected to continue their anti-inflation campaign by raising the interest rate by 25 basis points at the policy meeting in March.
The opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion increases when interest rates rise.
The dollar index fell by 0.2%, making gold more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.
