Investing.com – Gold prices remained at two-week highs on Thursday, amid continued dollar weakness as the US economy expanded less than expected in the third quarter.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $1, or 0.08%, to $1,270.60 troy ounce.
The Commerce Department said third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a 3.2% annual rate. That missed economists’ forecasts of a 3.3% rise but was above the 3.1% growth in the second quarter and the quickest rise since the first quarter of 2015.
That soft economic growth data failed to spark a significant move higher in gold as the data is not expected to weigh on the Fed’s decision to continue with its plan to hike rates in 2018.
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi said GDP is “winning the race on growth” earlier than the Trump administration had expected, while Pantheon said its forecast for 3% growth in the fourth quarter GDP remained unchanged.
Gold prices are set for second weekly win but Goldman Sachs on Wednesday warned that it expects gold to fall to $1,200 an ounce by mid-2018 as safe-haven demand, underpinning gold prices, are likely to fade amid US tax reform and a smooth transition to a new Fed chair.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.22% to $16.24 a troy ounce, while platinum futures gained 0.73% to $920.75.
Copper traded at $3.2, up 0.75%, while natural gas fell by 1.29% to $2.6.