Gold steady, bound for weekly loss

Gold bars

Gold prices remained stable on Friday and are on track to post a weekly loss, influenced by the turmoil that hit global markets on Aug. 5, which dampened investor sentiment despite the precious metal's status as a safe haven.

Prices of gold futures for December delivery were steady at $2,462.90 per ounce at 10:50 am KSA time, the. Spot gold eased 0.17%, or $4.18, to $2,423.35 per ounce. Meanwhile, silver futures for September delivery remained stable at $27.63 per ounce, and spot platinum fell by 0.49% to $932.10 per ounce.

The most actively traded gold contracts have declined about 0.25% over the current week, after suffering losses of up to 3% on Aug. 5 as investors liquidated their positions during the global sell-off.

Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, told Reuters that from a fundamental analysis perspective, gold prices should benefit from investors avoiding riskier assets or expectations of monetary easing in the U.S.

He added that several scenarios could play out over the coming months, potentially pushing gold prices to new record highs.