Gold drops from 9-week high with emerging markets in focus

Investing.com - Gold prices dropped from a nine-week high on Monday, as markets stabilized following a broad based selloff in stocks and emerging market currencies on Friday.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose to a session high of USD1,279.20 a troy ounce, the strongest level since November 18, before turning lower to trade at USD1,261.00 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, down 0.3%.

The April contract settled 0.16% higher on Friday to end at USD1,264.50. Futures were likely to find support at USD1,230.80 a troy ounce, the low from January 23 and resistance at USD1,287.70, the high from November 18.

The Turkish lira recovered from record lows against the dollar on Monday after Turkey’s central bank said it will hold an emergency meeting to discuss measures to ensure price stability.

The statement sparked speculation that the central bank will hike interest rates. The announcement came after the lira hit the latest in a series of record lows against the dollar earlier in the session.

The news helped ease concerns over ongoing turmoil in emerging markets, boosting sentiment and dampening demand for safe haven assets.

Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, amid expectations for a reduction in its bond buying program to USD65 billion from the current USD75 billion.

The policy meeting will mark the last for outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, as current Vice Chair Janet Yellen prepares to take over.

Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish bets in gold futures in the week ending January 21.

Net longs totaled 43,353 contracts as of last week, compared to 43,277 in the preceding week.

Meanwhile, silver for March delivery advanced 0.2% to trade at USD19.79 a troy ounce. Comex silver prices held in a range between UDF19.73 a troy ounce and USD20.07.

The March silver contract ended Friday’s session down 1.22% to settle at USD19.76 a troy ounce.

Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery fell 0.1% to trade at USD3.269 a pound, the lowest since December 10.

Copper prices remained under pressure after data last week pointed to a steeper than expected slowdown in Chinese manufacturing. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.