Gold prices rose on Friday to record their best week in 7 months, as demand for the yellow metal increased as a safe haven amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The “FedWatch” tool showed that the probability of increasing interest rates by 25 basis points at the November meeting of the US central bank decreased to 7.7 percent compared to 27.1 percent a week ago, in contrast to investors ‘ 92.3 percent preference for the Federal Reserve not to change its monetary policy, according to the Middle East news agency.
Gold’s gains come after data from the University of Michigan, which indicated a decline in US consumer confidence by 7.5 percent on a monthly basis at 63 points in the preliminary reading for October, compared to 68.1 points in the previous month, which exceeded expectations for a decline to 67.4 points.
Gold futures for December delivery, when adjusted, jumped by 3.1 percent or the equivalent of 58.5 dollars to reach 1941.5 dollars an ounce, achieving its best week since March with gains of 5.2 percent, ending a two-week losing streak.
