Market Watch: Gold Higher, on Track for Strongest Year Since 2010

Article by William Watts in The Wall Street Journal Market Watch

Gold futures edged higher Tuesday, buoyed amid jitters over the Middle East and a weaker U.S. dollar as the yellow metal prepared to ring out its strongest year since 2010.

Gold for February delivery was up $4.30, or 0.3%, at $1,522.90 an ounce, while March silver rose 4.9 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.05 an ounce.

Gold is on track for a 19% 2019 gain, while silver is up around 16.2% since the end of last year. Based on trade in most-active futures contracts, that would be the strongest performance for both metals since 2010, when gold rose 29.7% and silver surged nearly 84%, according to FactSet.

“Gold is receiving an undercurrent of support into year-end from lower U.S. bond yields, persistent geopolitical risks, and ongoing U.S. economic uncertainty,” said Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader, in a note.

“But with the weaker U.S. dollar narrative gathering steam into the election year 2020, risk hedgers are starting to flock to the security of gold rather than the dollar,” he said.

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