Gold prices edge higher in Baghdad
Shafaq News/ The prices of gold declined in the markets of Baghdad and Erbil on Thursday, Shafaq News Agency correspondent reported.
Gold prices on al-Nahar Street in Baghdad recorded a selling price of 458,000 Iraqi dinars for one mithqal of 21-carat Gulf, Turkish, and European gold. The buying price settled at 454,000 Iraqi dinars.
The selling price of one mithqal of Iraqi 21-carat gold was 428,000 Iraqi dinars, while the buying price was 424,000.
In goldsmith shops, the selling price of a 21-carat Gulf gold ranged between 470,000 and 460,000, while Iraqi gold mithqal ranged between 440,000 and 430,000 dinars.
Gold price retreated in the global market after hitting a fresh record high earlier this Thursday and trades just above the $2,200 round-figure mark during the first half of the European session, still up for the second straight day. The prevalent risk-on environment – as depicted by a generally positive tone around the equity markets – prompts some profit-taking around the safe-haven precious metal. Apart from this, a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields turns out to be another factor undermining the commodity amid slightly overbought conditions on short-term charts.
The downside for the Gold price, however, seems limited in the wake of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) projection for three 25 basis points (bps) interest rate cuts this year. This should keep a lid on any meaningful upside for the US bond yields and might continue to weigh on the US Dollar (USD), which, in turn, should benefit the non-yielding yellow metal. Hence, any further slide might still be seen as a buying opportunity and remain limited. Traders now look to the flash PMIs and the US macro data – Initial Jobless Claims and Existing Home Sales – for short-term opportunities.
