KUALA LUMPUR, The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade higher next week, after the cooler-than-expected United States (US) inflation sparked hopes that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in September, analysts said.
While not guaranteed, gold prices typically rise when interest rates decline and fall when rates increase.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the July 2024 contract rose to US$2,408.00 per troy ounce from US$2,370.50 per troy ounce last week, while August 2024 increased to US$2,424.20 per troy ounce from US$2,386.50 per troy ounce previously.
The September 2024, October 2024, December 2024, and February 2025 contracts all settled higher at US$2,424.20 per troy ounce compared with US$2,386.50 per troy ounce a week earlier.
Volume shrank to 21 lots from 42 lots in the previous week, while open interest increased to 12 contracts against six contracts in the preceding week.
The price of physical gold stood at US$2,409.20 per troy ounce, accordi
ng to the London Bullion Market Association’s afternoon fix on July 11.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency