Investing.com - Gold prices gained in Asia on Friday ahead of China PMIs and as investors took a long view the impact of Brexit.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery rose 0.30% to $1,324.55 a troy ounce.
Silver futures for August delivery jumped 1.26% to $18.858 a troy ounce, while copper futures for September delivery eased 0.05% to 2.200 a pound.
In China comes the June semi-official CLFP manufacturing PMI from China with a level of 50.0 seen, a slight down tick from 50.1 and just on the edge of expansion. The non-manufacturing PMI is also due with a level of 53.1 the previous month.
Then comes the Caixin manufacturing PMI for June with a 49.1 level expected, down from 49.2 the previous month.
Overnight, gold fell slightly but ended June with one of its strongest first halves on record, after Mark Carney strongly hinted that the Bank of England could ease monetary policy later this summer sending the Pound lower versus the dollar.
Gold has remained near 27-month highs throughout the week after surging nearly $100 an ounce last Friday to eclipse $1,360. Since opening the year around $1,075, Gold has soared nearly 25% over the last six months, amid heightened concerns of a global recession and a delayed interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
In London, the pound fell sharply and U.K. government bond yields sunk to fresh record lows after Carney emphasized that the BOE could lower interest rates in the coming months to safeguard the economy from further shocks emanating from last week's Brexit decision.
Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:NYSE:GS) said in a note to investors that the decision from U.K. voters to approve a departure from the European Union could tip the nation's economy into recession by early-2017. U.K. prime minister David Cameron expects to step down by early-September and plans to leave the option of invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to his successor.
Delivering his second public address since last week's shocking Brexit outcome, Carney noted that there was evidence that "uncertainty was holding back major economic decisions," ahead of the historic vote. The BOE has left interest rates steady since 2012 and held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low of 0.5% in every meeting dating back to 2009. While the BOE meets next in July, Carney hinted that the central bank could wait until August to loosen policy.
"It now seems plausible that uncertainty could remain elevated for some time,” Carney said. "The economic outlook has deteriorated and some monetary policy easing will likely be needed over the summer."
In the U.S., initial jobless claims rose by 10,000 to a slightly stronger than expected 268,000. The four-week moving average, however, remained unchanged at 266,750, down roughly 10,000 from its level a month ago. Investors await a critical U.S. employment report on July 8 for further indications on the strength of the labor market. In May, the economy added 38,000 nonfarm payrolls, its lowest monthly total in nearly six years.