FLEX NATION

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Gold, Silver, Copper Futures Weekly Outlook: July 10-14

Jul. 10, 2017

Gold prices dropped to almost four-month lows on Friday after a stronger-than-forecast U.S. jobs report boosted the dollar against a basket of other major currencies.

Gold futures for August delivery ended down 0.93% at $1,211.98 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the lowest close since March 15.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.21% to 95.78 late Friday.

Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes down, gold futures, which are denominated in the U.S. currency, will rise.

The U.S. economy added 222,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported, more than the 179,000 new jobs expected by economists. Figures for April and May were also revised to show that 47,000 more jobs were created than previously reported.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% from a 16-year low of 4.3% in May as more people looked for work, a sign of confidence in the labor market.

The rapid pace of jobs growth reassured investors that the economy is on a strong enough footing to justify the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates once more this year. The Fed hiked rates at its June meeting and stuck to its forecast for one more rate hike this year, but the subdued inflation outlook has raised doubts over whether officials will be able to stick to their planned tightening path.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising rates, which lifts the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar.

Elsewhere in precious metals trading, silver futures fell 2.49% to $15.58 a troy ounce late Friday, its lowest close since April 1, 2016. The steep losses came after silver plunged almost 10% in a flash-crash late Thursday, before reversing most of that decline.

Copper was down 0.39% to $2.651 a pound, platinum eased 0.14% to $909.00 and palladium rose 0.57% to $836.98 an ounce.

In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's testimony on monetary policy, as well as U.S. data on inflation and retail sales due out on Friday. The latest UK jobs report and the Bank of Canada's meeting, both set for Wednesday, will also be closely watched.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4086519-gold-silver-copper-futures-weekly-outlook-july-10minus-14