Investing.com-- Gold prices rose Friday, heading for a positive week as safe haven demand was elevated by a sell-off in U.S. Treasurys amid heightened concerns over high government debt.
At 08:20 ET (12:20 GMT), spot gold rose 1.7% to $3,350.76 an ounce, while gold futures for June rose 1.7% to $3,350.69/oz.
Gold heads for positive week on U.S. debt concerns
Gold was trading up around 5% this week, its best performance since early-April, as traders sought haven in the yellow metal amid increasing concerns over high U.S. government debt levels.
This was reflected in a prolonged sell-down in Treasurys this week, which pushed up yields substantially and pressured the dollar.
Concerns over U.S. debt were first sparked by Moody’s downgrading the U.S. sovereign rating.
The progress of a tax cut and spending bill backed by President Donald Trump also factored into concerns over fiscal health. The bill, which narrowly cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday, is expected to add over $3 trillion to national debt in the next decade, according to non-partisan analysts.
Also helping gold prices higher was data showing China’s gold imports surged to an 11-month high last month despite record-high prices, according to customs data.
Total gold imports reached 127.5 metric tonnes, a 73% jump from a month earlier, after the People’s Bank of China allocated fresh quotas to some commercial banks in April.
Dollar weakens, boosts broader metal prices
The dollar was battered by concerns over high U.S. debt and the Treasury sell-off, which put the greenback on course for a weekly decline.
This trend boosted broader metal prices and other commodities priced in the greenback, putting them on course for weekly advances.
Among other precious metals, silver futures fell 0.1% to $33.175/oz, but were set to add over 2% this week. Platinum futures slipped 0.7% to $1,072.55/oz, and were trading up over 8% this week after rallying sharply from weeks of consolidation.
Among industrial metals, copper prices benefited from signs of more stimulus in top importer China.
Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.3% to $9,486 a ton, and were up 0.4% this week. U.S. copper futures slipped 0.3% to $4.6635 a pound, and were up 1.4% this week.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.