The price of an ounce of gold reached the historic high of $2,790.10, still galvanized by an exacerbated geopolitical risk premium and by the prospects of cuts in American rates.
Gold set new records again this week, before falling again due to profit-taking by investors.
The price of an ounce of gold reached the historic high of $2,790.10 on Thursday, still galvanized by an exacerbated geopolitical risk premium and by the prospects of cuts in American rates, while the Federal Reserve meeting (Fed) is to be held on November 6 and 7.
Some buyers are also guided by the fear of missing the opportunity of upward price movement.
But the price of the yellow metal then fell sharply during the day on Thursday to return to its levels at the start of the week.
A decline in the stock market, materialized by “share sales”, “led to profit-taking on gold, often liquidated (by investors, editor’s note) to cover their losses in periods of market stress”, specifies Daria Efanova, analyst at Sucden.
This caution among traders can also be explained by the approach of important events next week, starting with the American presidential election on November 5.
Despite the reduction in the appeal of jewelry due to the prices of the precious metal, global demand for gold by volume remained stable in the third quarter, thanks to a jump in investment products, it is further highlighted in the latest report from the World Gold Council (WGC) published on Wednesday.
“In the long term,” says Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank, this factor “will hardly be enough to justify the high level of prices, let alone a further increase.”
Friday, around 3:15 p.m. GMT (4:15 p.m. in Paris), an ounce of gold was trading at $2,747.68, compared to $2,747.56 seven days earlier at the close.
Dear cocoa
Cocoa prices have climbed this week, due to a drop in reserves at ports and concerns about the harvest in West Africa.
“The weather has been very humid in West Africa recently, which raises fears of the development of a cocoa tree disease” which manifests itself by brown then black spots on the pods, fruits of the cocoa tree, explains Jack Scoville , analyst at Price Futures Group.
Ivory Coast and Ghana together provide more than half of world cocoa production, respectively 39% and 16% according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
In addition, cocoa reserves in ports monitored by ICE (IntercontinentalExchange) are falling this week, worrying investors about a possible supply deficit which explains the rise in prices.
At the same time, demand for finished cocoa-related products is weakened by the particularly high prices of the past year.
On Friday, in London, a tonne of cocoa for delivery in March was worth 5,447 pounds, compared to 4,816 a week earlier at the end of the session.
In New York, a tonne for delivery in December was worth $6,695 at the same time, compared to $6,310 last Friday at the close.
Marble copper
Copper prices remained stable this week despite excess production in the current year, supported by lower than expected stocks on the market and strong Chinese demand for the red metal.
The resilience of the copper price is “remarkable given the significant excess supply in 2024”, wonders Barbara Lambrecht, analyst at Commerzbank.
According to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG), projections of the global refined copper balance indicate a surplus of around 469,000 tonnes for 2024 and 194,000 tonnes for 2025.
However, manufacturing activity in China grew in October for the first time since April, according to official figures released on Thursday.
Beijing’s stimulus measures “probably play a role in this, as many large industrial companies are state-owned and operate in heavy industry,” argues Volkmar Baur of Commerzbank.
Widely used in industry, particularly for making electrical circuits, copper is very sensitive to the economic activity of major metal-consuming countries, notably China and the United States.
On the LME, a tonne of copper cost $9,545.00, compared to $9,602.50 seven days earlier at the close.
