Gold ended lower on Friday, distancing itself from the more-than six-year high it settled at a day earlier, but the metal’s investment haven appeal contributed to a third weekly climb in a row.
“Drivers for gold have included global growth in negative interest rate bonds, the decline in real interest rates in the U.S., [and] uncertainty regarding U.S./China trade policy and political unrest in Hong Kong,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
However, “with bonds and gold overbought and bullish speculative positions at relative extremes last week, [that] indicates gold may be due for a near-term pause,” he said.
Gold for December delivery GCZ19, -0.39% on Comex fell $7.60, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,523.60 an ounce after settling at $1,531.20 on Thursday, the highest most-active contract settlement since April 2013. September silver SIU19, -0.40% lost 9.2 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.122 an ounce—up 1.1% for the week.
Read: Why gold’s ‘strong undercurrent’ has some analysts eyeing $2,000 an ounce
Gold settled 1% higher for the week and have rallied 6% so far in August, according to FactSet Data. An intensifying U.S.-China trade war and growing worries over the global economy saw investors pile into haven assets. The related rally in U.S. Treasurys, sending down yields, further reinforced gains for gold, analysts said, by reducing the opportunity cost of holding the metal.
U.S. consumer sentiment data Friday, which revealed a decline to 92.1 in August from 98.4, failed to provide support for haven gold. July housing starts fell 4% to an seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.19 million, but building permits rose 8.4% to 1.34 million.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, it isn’t just retail and institutional investors boosting gold, said Christopher Louney, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
“Central banks have been adding to their reserves for some time and the official sector at large has favored the metal, among other things, amid de-dollarization efforts,” he said, in a note.
Trade-war worries and other risks make the desire more acute in some regions, but most central banks look for the official sector to hold the same or more gold over the next year, he said, citing a World Gold Council survey.
“Overall, we remain of the view that official sector buying should remain robust and surpass the 500 ton level again this year. We view the sector as arguably more supportive for sustainable gains in sentiment than simply tightening supply and demand fundamentals, but in any case — it looks very supportive,” Louney said.
In other metals trade, October platinum PLV19, +1.24% rose $9.50, or 1.1%, to $851.50 an ounce, with prices suffering weekly decline of 1.4%. September palladium PAU19, +0.20% rose $2.70, or 0.2%, to $1,441.30 an ounce, for a 1.6% rise for the week.
September copper HGU19, -0.19% ended the session unchanged at $2.595 a pound, with prices up 0.2% for the week.
Prices for the industrial metal touched their lowest levels in a bout two years earlier this month, but as supplies of copper tighten, analysts believe commodities traders could overcome concerns about the economy, prompting a rally for prices.
Read: Copper trades near a 2-year low, but ‘birth of an epic bull market’ draws near
Exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Shares GLD, -0.52% fell 0.6% in Friday dealings, paring its weekly loss to around 1.1%.