Gold futures to trade range-bound next week amid mixed market forces
KUALA LUMPUR: Gold futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trade range-bound next week as the precious metal finds itself caught between opposing forces, said an analyst.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said the relentless record-setting rally in US equities is capping its upside momentum, while continued expectations of a US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut are offering downside support.
However, he said the real swing factor lies in the US dollar as the greenback has remained surprisingly soft — possibly reflecting global underexposure to the US equity rebound, despite Wall Street's surge.
"If foreign inflows begin chasing US mega technology companies and the dollar finally catches up with the equity market's enthusiasm, gold could face renewed downside pressure.
"While the near-term gold outlook appears range-bound, the landscape is fluid, and a breakout cannot be ruled out if macro positioning shifts significantly," he told Bernama.
Therefore, he said gold futures would trade in a tight range between US$3,260 and US$3,340 per troy ounce next week.
The market was closed on Friday for the Maal Hijrah public holiday.
On a weekly basis, the spot month June 2025 contract dropped to US$3,340.80 per troy ounce on Thursday from US$3,360 last Friday and the July 2025 contract went down to US$3,355.10 per troy ounce from US$3,366.50 per troy ounce previously.
The August 2025, September 2025 and October 2025 contracts all fell to US$3,370.80 per troy ounce from US$3,388.60 per troy ounce last Friday.
Trading volume decreased to 173 lots from 321 lots recorded in the preceding week, while open interest climbed to 36 contracts from 31 contracts.
According to the London Bullion Market Association's afternoon fix on June 26, physical gold was priced at US$3318.70 per troy ounce.
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