Gold, silver kick off 2023 by advancing to highest levels in months

Price action

• Gold prices due in February
  GC00,
  +0.65%
   
  GCG23,
  +0.65%
  advanced $17.40, or 1%, to $1,843 per ounce on Comex, according to FactSet data. That’s the highest level for a most-active contract since mid-June.

• Silver prices due in March
  SI00,
  +1.21%
   
  SIH23,
  +1.21%
  climbed 53 cents, or 2.2%, to $24.56 per ounce, the highest level for a most-active contract since mid-April.

• April platinum
  PLJ23,
  +1.15%
  advanced $12.70, or 1.2%, to $1,095 per ounce, the highest level for a most-active contract since the first half of March. The precious metal recorded its strongest quarterly advance since 2008 in the three months ended Dec. 31.

• Palladium expiring in March
  PAH23,
  -1.95%
  fell $7.50, or 0.4%, to $1,790 per ounce.

• Copper prices due in March
  HGH23,
  -0.18%
  rose 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.834 per pound.

Market drivers

Gold and silver prices managed to kick off the year at the highest level in several months with the outlook for precious metals improving markedly recently, analysts said.

Prices continued to advance despite a stronger U.S. dollar as traders focused instead on lower Treasury yields while purchases by the People’s Bank of China has inspired hope among traders that some central banks might increase the share of their reserves allocated to gold.

“Central bank purchases might be another factor, following reports last month that the People’s Bank of China has started to increase its gold reserves,” said Marios Hadjikyriacos, senior investment analyst at XM.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
+1.02%
rose 1% to 104.57, while the 10-year yield
TMUBMUSD10Y,
3.790%
dropped 10.6 basis points to 3.771%.