A specialized economic report said that gold prices rose during trading last week to close at 1718 dollars per ounce, taking advantage of the weakness of the US dollar and the atmosphere of uncertainty imposed by the closure of the Russian gas pipeline to Europe.
The report issued by the Kuwaiti Company (Dar Al-Babeeq) issued today, Sunday, added that gold prices headed towards 1721 dollars per ounce during trading last Friday, but it did not stabilize at this level after the US Federal Reserve Chairman (Central Bank) Jerome Powell repeated the commitment to raise interest rates until Inflation rates go down.
He expected a US interest rate hike of 75 basis points at the US Central Bank's meeting to be held this month, noting that the European Central Bank had made a historic increase in the interest rate by 75 basis points, "which has not occurred in 23 years
He explained that gold prices, in the midst of all these economic indicators, are still at their lowest levels compared to the prices of 2020, as measures to raise interest rates led to a decline in demand for gold.
He stated that gold futures contracts (December delivery) rose by the end of last Friday by 0.5 percent, equivalent to $8.44, to reach $1,728 per ounce, after it had reached $1,740 earlier in last week's trading.
He stated that silver futures contracts rose $18 per ounce after the dollar fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.7 percent, adding that the Russian-Chinese agreement on paying for gas using local currencies (the yuan and the ruble) had an impact on the strength of the US dollar and thus on gold prices in the global market.
Regarding the local market, he stated that the price of a gram of 24 carat amounted to 17.18 dinars, while the price of 22 carat was 15.75 dinars, while the price of silver amounted to 232 dinars per kilogram.
It is noteworthy that (the ounce) is one of the units of mass measurement and is used in a number of different systems of measurement units, also called the ounce, and it is equal to 28.349 grams, while as a unit of measurement for precious metals it is equal to 31.103 grams. (end) smr.h