Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – Gold struggle on stronger dollar, caution ahead of Fed — Gold slipped on Friday as the dollar advanced versus the yen and the euro, but the metal was still looking to post a weekly gain, while silver was set for its biggest weekly rise in 13 months.
The dollar was up almost 2 percent against the yen on speculation the Bank of Japan was considering applying negative rates to its lending programme for financial institutions, effectively starting to pay banks to borrow its cash.
Spot silver rose 1.5 percent to $17.25 an ounce. It had risen to 11-month high of $17.69 in the previous session and was up more than 6 percent for the week. Gold had posted its best quarter in nearly 30 years in the three months to March on expectations that the Federal Reserve would not be able to raise U.S. interest rates this year due to volatile markets and concerns over the Chinese economy. Recent data from China has showed new debt fuelling a recovery in factory activity, investment and household spending, stoking appetite for metals used in manufacturing.
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Goldman Sachs maintained its bearish view on gold and other commodities on Friday, and reiterated its recommendation to short gold. Silver’s rally this week has also been helped by optimism over Chinese growth, and a break above key chart resistance. Investors will also be closely monitoring the U.S. central bank’s two-day policy meeting that concludes on Thursday.
