Investing.com - Gold hit two-week highs Friday, advancing in the $1,500 channel in further buildup to expectations of an impending Fed rate cut.
But the real story in precious metals belonged to silver, which rode the winds of a technical move to its biggest weekly gain in three months.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled up a modest 60 cents at $1,505.30 per ounce by 2:35 PM ET (18:35 GMT). In post-settlement trade, it was up $3.25, or 0.2%, at $1.507.95 by 2:35 PM ET (18:35 GMT).
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion, was up $1.62, or 0.1%, at $1,505.38.
Gold returned to $1,500 on Thursday, two weeks after dropping off that bullish perch, amid expectations that the Fed’s Oct. 29-30 policy decision will yield in a third-straight rate cut for this year. Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool showed a 91% chance that the U.S. central bank will approve another quarter-point easing as it did in July and September.
Gold is up around 17% on the year, emerging as one of the best performers among commodities in 2019, as investors plowed into the safe haven amid currency devaluations, recession fears, Brexit uncertainty and other tensions involving China and Iran.
U.S. silver futures for December delivery settled up 12.20 cents, or 0.7%, at $17.93 per ounce. For the week, it posted a 2% gain, and for the year 14%.
“Silver has been the main outperformer in recent days as under invested traders appear to pile in on both precious and industrial optimism,” TD Securities said in a note. “The break of the short-term downtrend since September and a 50-Day Moving Average also offers some short term juice for the metal.”