On Friday, the price of gold remained at about $2,020 per ounce. This happened because investors were waiting with caution. They wanted to see the latest US inflation numbers. These numbers are important. They could change how the Federal Reserve handles its money-related decisions.
For this week, the gold price seems like it will drop. This is happening mainly because the value of the US dollar is rising. The rise in the dollar’s value is linked to the US economy performing better than many expected.
A report came out on Thursday about the US economy. This report was surprising. It showed that the US economy is strong, even though it’s expensive to borrow money right now. The economy grew 3.3% in the last three months of the year. This growth rate is a lot higher than the 2% that experts had predicted.
There’s a big meeting of the Federal Reserve next week. Most people believe they will keep the interest rates the same. But, traders are very interested in what Jerome Powell, the leader of the Federal Reserve, will say. They are looking for any hints he might give about when the Federal Reserve will start making changes to make borrowing money easier.
Over in Europe, the European Central Bank also made a decision on Thursday. They decided to keep their interest rates the same. This decision was what most people were expecting. However, traders are now starting to think that the European Central Bank will lower their interest rates in April. They are making bets on this happening.