KUWAIT: Gold price stabilized at the end of last week’s trading to $2,045 per ounce after achieving a high of $2,060 per ounce amid geopolitical and technical factors on the yellow metal, said Dar Al-Sabaek. In the report released on Sunday by the company, the prices of gold futures contracts for delivery next February stabilized at $2,049 per ounce, ending a series of gains that lasted three weeks as traders reset their bets on the first cut in the US interest rate.

The metal markets are anticipating a decrease or stabilization of the US interest rate in the first quarter of this year, mainly in conjunction with the emergence of economic data indicating an increase in employment in the US market, as 216,000 jobs were added recently, bringing the unemployment rate to stabilize at 3.7 percent, the report added.

The eurozone also recorded an inflation rate of 2.9 percent in December, while the dollar index stabilized at 103.1 points. It also explained that there are possibilities of decreasing the US interest rate by 25 points during March, noting that the current week will witness the emergence of new inflation data, followed by US foreign trade data and producer prices.

Analysts do not only check technical data, but rather the rapid geopolitical developments in the Middle East and the possibility of expanding military tension in the region with the rise in maritime shipping costs, which may increase economic fluctuations, thus investors turn to the yellow metal instead of investing in high-risk markets, it noted. Regarding the local market, the price of a gram of 24 karat was KD 20.4, the price of 22 karat was KD 18.72, and silver closed at KD 274 per kilogram. The ounce is one of the units’ measurements of mass, which is equal to 28.349 grams, while a troy ounce of gold equals 31.103 grams.

US Dollar stable

Meanwhile, the US dollar exchange rate against the Kuwaiti dinar was stable at KD 0.307 on Sunday, while the euro went up 0.16 percent to KD 0.336 in comparison to last Thursday, said the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK). The CBK revealed in its online daily bulletin that the exchange rates of the Pound Sterling went up 0.36 percent to reach KD 0.390, and the Swiss Franc went down 0.16 percent to reach KD 0.361, while the Japanese Yen stood at KD 0.002. — KUNA