Last week, gold headed for a weekly decline after news from around the world took it from a range of 1745 to almost near 1700. The yellow metal’s prices remained choppy on volatility caused by the greenback. Spot prices reached the lowest in a week last Thursday, after ECB denied expanding the bond – buying package.
In spite of European leaders failing to achieve a unanimous support for a new agreement on stricter rules prices remained buoyant on investor optimism.
Gold, like other precious metals was held captive by the euro zone debt crisis, encouraging investors to move their holdings into safer assets, thereby restricting the gains.
However, a late week euro rally lifted gold prices higher as demand for the greenback weakened with investors willing to take on more risk. A better than expected increase in U.S. consumer confidence data helped pare back some gains on Friday. Even after advancing for three out of five days, gold prices were poised to end the week posting loss of more than 2.0%. The past week saw spot prices trade as high as $1754.3 to as low as $1703.1.
Analysts expect renewed optimism to lift gold prices at the beginning of this week.
