Gold futures prices recorded a slight increase during trading today, Monday, at the beginning of the trading week, at a time when the dollar rose against other major currencies on the back of expectations of a continued increase in US interest rates.
The dollar value index rose against the major currencies today to 103.77 points, an increase of 0.8% from its level on Friday at the end of last week’s trading, in light of expectations of a continued increase in US interest rates after labor market data issued last Friday showed job growth in the United States during January. January, more than expected.
The gold price rose today by $2.90, or about 0.2%, to $1879.50 an ounce for next April delivery.
On the other hand, the price of silver declined by $0.168 to $22.237 an ounce for next March delivery, while the price of copper fell by $0.0215 to $4.0350 per pound for next March delivery.
In terms of economic news, the results of an opinion poll published today, Monday, showed that the number of Americans who expect the US stock market to decline during the current year reached a record level, while the majority of Americans see an acceleration of the inflation rate, despite the slowdown in the rate of price rise.
According to the annual poll of the Gallup Center for American public opinion polls, which was conducted during the period from 2 to 22 January last, the Americans’ view of the five economic indicators, which are growth, the stock market, unemployment, interest rates, and inflation, were largely negative.
Bloomberg news agency indicated that 4 out of 10 Americans expect the unemployment rate to rise, while the remaining percentage was divided between a decline in the rate and its stability. The majority of Americans said that interest rates and the inflation rate will rise again this year, despite the rapid decline in the percentage of Americans who expect prices to rise.
Bloomberg reported that the results of the survey indicate widespread concern about the US economy, which Gallup researchers attributed to the continuing rate of inflation, the high interest rate, and the wide layoffs of employees in the technology sector.
Late last month, the US Department of Commerce announced that the US economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter of last year, despite seeing the successive increases in US interest rates over the past year as a threat to growth prospects.
The ministry said that the gross domestic product rose during the last quarter of last year at a rate of 2.9 percent, after growing during the third quarter at a rate of 3.2 percent. Private consumer spending, the largest part of the US economy, grew at a rate of 2.1%, which is less than expected.
The median forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg was for GDP growth of 2.6% and consumer spending growing by 2.9%.
