Gold Drifts Ahead of Payrolls; ETFs Saw Outflows in Nov

Investing.com -- Gold prices edged higher on Thursday but were essentially rangebound in the absence of major new developments in the U.S.-China trade war.

Such data as were released weren’t dramatic enough to warrant a revision of the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, which is seen on hold by the vast majority for at least the next two months, notwithstanding the sporadic pressure from the White House for further cuts.

By 11:25 AM ET (1625 GMT), gold futures for delivery on the Comex exchange were up 0.2% at $1,483.15 a troy ounce, but were on course for an inside day, testing neither the lows nor highs of Wednesday’s session in a range of less than $6. Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,478.40.

Silver futures were up 0.5% at $16.99 an ounce, still unable to hold above $17.00. Platinum futures were down 0.2% at $889.05 an ounce.

Signals that the Fed has stopped easing for now, and relief at the avoidance of a disruptive Brexit, have teased portfolio capital out of gold-based ETFs in the last month, according to the World Gold Council.

Global gold-backed ETFs and similar products saw $1.3 billion of net outflows across North America, Europe and Asia in November, decreasing their collective gold holdings by 30.1 tons after hitting record highs in October.

Over two-thirds of the outflows came from U.K.-based funds, where the extension of the Brexit deadline to Jan. 31 next year caused some of the haven-seeking inflows of October to reverse. Most of the other outflows were from North American funds, reflecting the rise in the dollar and in Treasury yields that month.

Trading is likely to stay quiet now until the Commerce Department releases its monthly labor market report on Friday at 8:30 AM ET (1330 GMT).

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