© Reuters.
By Ambar Warrick
Investing.com – Gold prices held steady around recent highs on Monday as investors besieged profits and showed some caution ahead of major economic readings from around the world and central bank meetings this week.
The yellow metal has rallied sharply in recent weeks on a growing number of bets the U.S. Federal Reserve will make in the coming months, easing some pressure on hard-to-yield assets.
This idea was continued through data that showed that weighted and .
Fears of a recession in major economies this year have also seen renewed demand for safe-haven gold as the effects of sharp interest rate hikes through 2022 begin to be felt.
The focus this week is on other signs of slowing growth in major economies, with a flurry of readings from the US, Japan, China, the UK and the Eurozone. Interest rate decisions are also in the spotlight, with a particular focus on the Bank of Japan after it unexpectedly struck a hawkish note at its December meeting.
was down 0.1% at $1,918.49 an ounce from $1,921.50 an ounce at 19:33 ET (00:33 GMT). Both instruments were near their highest levels since May 2022.
However, metals markets will be trading lower on Monday due to the US holiday.
Among industrial metals, copper prices retreated slightly on Monday after hitting a seven-month high last week. The red metal saw a strong surge in bids this year amid growing expectations of a recovery in Chinese demand after the country eased most of its strict anti-COVID restrictions.
fell 0.3% to $4.2060 a pound, but trade is up more than 10% this year.
In addition to positive demand trends in China, the world’s largest consumer of copper, prices of the red metal are also expected to benefit from potential supply disruptions from major Latin American producers.
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