Gold prices stabilised in the local market thanks to a steady foreign exchange rate as well as unstirred global demand.
Egypt’s most popular 21-karat sold for LE4,120 per gramme yesterday, while the 24-karatgold sold for LE4,709per gramme, traders said.
Globally, bullion prices held steady in Asian trading on Friday but were on track for weekly gains as the U.S. dollar lingered near a four-month low amid ongoing trade policy uncertainty.
Spot Gold was largely unchanged at $2,913.57 per ounce, while Gold Futures expiring in April gained 0.1 per cent to $2,920.55 an ounce.
Gold prices remained supported as the U.S. dollar hovered a four-month low, after hitting it in the precious session.
The yellow metal was set to gain nearly two per cent for the week.
The dollar’s decline against major currencies makes gold, priced in dollars, more attractive to investors.
Earlier this week, President Trump escalated trade tensions by imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and raising Chinese tariffs to 20 per cent.
However, just after two days, he eased his stance, delaying the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2.
The move, while offering temporary relief, has added to market volatility and uncertainty as markets remain unclear about U.S. trade policies.
Amid these developments, gold, often viewed as a safe-haven asset during periods of economic uncertainty, remained supported.
Other precious metals were subdued. Platinum Futures was flat at $982.1 an ounce, while Silver Futures fell 0.4 per cent to $33.198 an ounce. Copper prices fell on Friday after hitting a three-week high in the previous session.
Benchmark Copper Futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.7 per cent to $9,639.25 a ton, while Copper Futures expiring in April was slightly higher at $4.7875 a pound.
Global physically-backed gold ETFs saw significant inflows in February totalling $9.4billion, the strongest since March 2022. North American flows flipped positive following two consecutive monthly outflows, recording one of its strongest months on record.
“Asian demand was also strong while European inflows narrowed. We have now seen three consecutive months of strong global inflows which, combined an upward trending gold price, have lifted total assets under management (AUM) to $306billion, another month-end peak. Meanwhile, holdings rose to 3,353tons, the highest month-end level since July 2023,” read a World Gold Council report, a copy of which was made available to The Egyptian Gazette.
North American demand surged in February, adding $6.8billion. This was the largest single month inflow for the region since July 2020 and the strongest February ever. As physical shipments into COMEX vaults from London and other markets made headlines, the positive gold market momentum also benefited North American gold ETFs.
