Gold surged to a record high on Friday, reaching $2,500.16 an ounce, as global stock markets showed mixed results.
European and Asian markets posted gains, bolstered by reassuring economic data, while Wall Street saw profit-taking despite strong retail sales figures.
The rise in gold prices comes amid expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut in September, which weakened the dollar and fueled demand for the safe-haven asset.
“The sharp drop in bond yields amid expectations of rate cuts by the Fed has pushed gold prices higher,” explained Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.
Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled by around 1.5 percent, with Brent North Sea crude falling below $80 per barrel.
The decline was attributed to weaker-than-expected Chinese demand, which offset concerns about instability in the Middle East.
Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank, noted, “The significant price recovery on the oil market has run out of steam in recent days.”
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 by 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite by 0.5 percent, marking a pullback after Thursday’s rally.
Analyst Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com pointed out that while the market has seen substantial gains, “buyers aren’t rushing in to buy the dip just yet.”
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 3.6 percent as the yen weakened against the dollar early in the day, while in Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.5 percent, and France’s CAC 40 increased by 0.2 percent.
However, London’s FTSE 100 slipped by 0.6 percent due to a stronger pound weighing on multinational earnings.
In corporate news, German chemicals giant Bayer saw its shares surge by 10.7 percent following a U.S. court victory in its long-running legal battle over glyphosate-based weedkillers.
Key Market Figures (as of 1330 GMT):
-New York: Dow down 0.2% at 40,502.13 points, S&P 500 down 0.3% at 5,525.71, Nasdaq Composite down 0.5% at 17,507.74
-London: FTSE 100 down 0.6% at 8,301.82
– Paris: CAC 40 up 0.2% at 7,434.24
– Frankfurt: DAX up 0.5% at 18,277.46
– Tokyo: Nikkei 225 up 3.6% at 38,062.67 (close)
– Hong Kong: Hang Seng Index up 1.9% at 17,430.16 (close)
– Shanghai: Composite up 0.1% at 2,879.43 (close)
– Currencies: Euro/dollar up at $1.1000, Pound/dollar up at $1.2901, Dollar/yen down at 147.76 yen
– Oil Prices: West Texas Intermediate down 1.6% at $76.88 per barrel, Brent North Sea Crude down 1.5% at $79.84 per barrel.
