US MIDDAY: gold surges

Gold prices rose slightly on Friday as the US dollar hovered near a three-year low on heightened fears of a US government shutdown, but the precious metal was still on track for its first weekly drop in six weeks. The US dollar fell versus a basket of currencies as the US Senate raced to avert a government shutdown on Friday ahead of a midnight deadline with no agreement on funding in sight. A weak dollar makes dollar-priced gold cheaper for non-US investors.
Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,334.58 per ounce at 2:06 pm EST (1906 GMT), on track for a weekly drop of 0.3 percent, after falling from Monday's four-month highs. US gold futures for February delivery settled up $5.90, or 0.4 percent, at $1,333.10 per ounce.
"Gold is shaking off an upside bounce to the dollar and looking at the possibility of a government shutdown, said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago. Market participants are also hedging against geopolitical risks of North Korea canceling its planned delegation visit to South Korea to prepare for a trip by an art troupe during next month's Winter Olympics, Haberkorn added.
However, gold's gains were capped by a week-long rise in bond yields fuelled by expectations that strong global economic data would encourage the US Federal Reserve to press ahead with monetary tightening. The Fed should raise interest rates three to four times in both 2018 and 2019, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Thursday, a pace slightly faster than many of her fellow policymakers prefer.
"The fundamentals remain the same with the large trading range remaining intact at $1,200 to $1,400, with no major change in global political tensions or rate hike outlook," said Mark To, head of research at Hong Kong's Wing Fung Financial Group. Spot gold is still targeting $1,311 per ounce, as suggested by a small double-top and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Silver advanced 0.6 percent to $17.03 per ounce, while palladium gained 0.5 percent at $1,104, but both metals, like gold, were set for their first weekly drop in six weeks. Platinum was up 1.3 percent at $1,013.40 per ounce after peaking at $1,015.20, the highest since September, on track for its sixth weekly gain.