KUALA LUMPUR: Gold futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are likely to trade with an upside bias in the range of between US$1,800 (RM7,920) and US$1,830 (RM8,052) this week, says a dealer.
Phillip Capital Sdn Bhd dealer Lee Pei Wan said gold prices would continue to be supported by expectation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would slow down the rate hikes after initial unemployment claim data pointed to a cooling off in the US labour market.
The less hawkish Fed will result in further easing of the US dollar and prompt higher demand for the safe haven metal as a weaker greenback makes bullion more appealing to buyers holding other currencies, she noted.
Alternatively, she said the Covid-19 woes in China and the geopolitical fears surrounding the Ukraine war could lead to a short-term spike in gold prices before falling amid the stronger dollar and spike in crude oil prices, she told Bernama.
For the week just ended, Bursa gold futures were traded mostly higher except last Wednesday, in taking the cue from the movement of Comex gold and US dollar.Last Friday, the domestic gold futures was traded higher with 19 lots traded worth RM1.38mil, she pointed out.
Week-on-week, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives gold futures contract for spot month December 2022 stood at US$1,812.40 (RM7,974.56) per troy ounce while January 2023, February 2023, March 2023, April 2023 and June 2023 are all at US$1,818.0 (RM7,999.2) per troy ounce.
Nevertheless, the price of physical gold was recorded at US$1,813.75 (RM7,980) per troy ounce as published by the London Bullion Market Association PM fix on Dec 29, 2022.
