Spot Gold prices were hovering around $1196/oz till 3.45 pm IST today, up marginally against its previous close of $1193/oz. The yellow metal prices took cues from the movement in the US dollar index (DX) today. The DX- a gauge against a basket of currencies declined today as expected and was trading around 80.71 till 3.45 pm IST. The weaker DX made gold prices look attractive for holders of other currencies. The Asian equity markets were mixed today. However, the European markets rebounded strongly and had gained around 0.5% in the afternoon trade, after opening in the negative territory.
Copper prices were unchanged to its previous close of $7460/tonne till 3.45 pm IST today. The red metal prices touched an intra-day high of $7515/tonne on the LME today, but were unable to sustain at the higher levels.
Copper prices are awaiting fresh positive news for further upward direction. The red metal prices have gained a stunning 15% since the last three weeks on improved risk appetite in the global markets. However, copper prices were cushioned on the back of weakness in the DX today. Moreover, LME copper inventories declined by 875 tonnes to reach 413,075 tonnes today, helping the prices to remain intact.
Crude oil prices declined 0.5%, touching an intra-day low of $82.05 /bbl till 3.45 IST today. Despite weakness in the DX, crude oil prices declined on Nymex stage today, mainly on the back of profit booking at the upper levels. Crude oil prices breached the psychological $80/bbl mark in the early part of this week. The US Energy department reported yesterday that crude oil inventories declined by 2.8 million barrels in the last week as against expectations of decline by 0.9 million barrels. However, gasoline stocks rose for an unexpected sixth consecutive week, by 729,000 barrels.
Outlook
On the macro-economic front, the US authorities are expected to announce economic data on unemployment claims and natural gas storage today. The DX is expected to remain weak today as positive sentiments in the financial markets will decrease demand for the currency. Financial markets are expected to trade on a positive note in the evening session.
Copper prices are expected to gain in the evening session on the back of weakness in the DX. Crude oil prices will also be supported by the weaker DX, making the dollar-denominated commodity attractive for holders of other currencies. Gold prices are expected to trade with a positive bias today as the yellow metal prices have the tendency of trading inversely to the greenback.
