Excerpt from Market Watch article by Myrap Saefong and Rachel Kong-Beals
Full article here
Interest-rate policy can influence demand for nonyield-bearing assets like gold, putting them in competition with those offering yields. The cautious path for both central banks has bolstered the case for continued bullish bets on metals.
The Fed seems likely to take no action on rates while “data continue to present a mixed picture of the economy,” said George Milling-Stanley, head of gold strategy at State Street Global Advisors. So the market will probably “suffer bouts of uncertainty ahead of future Fed meetings this year.”
George Milling-Stanley, State Street Global Advisors. “In the continued absence of any surprises from policy makers, the gold price could still see further gains in 2016,” he said. “A price of around $1,350 by year-end could be sustainable.”
Rounding out metals trading, July copper HGN6, +1.99% rose less than a cent, or 0.3%, to $2.232 a pound. July platinum PLN6, +1.32% rose $25.30, or 2.5%, to $1,050.70 an ounce, while June palladium PAM6, +0.74% added $14.70, or 2.4%, to $624.35 an ounce.
Meanwhile, the iShares Silver Trust SLV, +1.43% the world’s largest physically-backed silver exchange-traded fund, marks its 10th anniversary Thursday. According to the Silver Institute, it accounts for 94% of all U.S. silver ETF holdings. It was trading 2% higher Thursday.