GOLD FUTURES CLOSE MARGINALLY LOWER AS MARKETS MONITOR SHIFTS IN GEOPOLITICAL SENTIMENT

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Gold futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed marginally lower due to a shift in geopolitical sentiment, said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes.

He said markets anticipate key diplomatic developments this week as the US pushes for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, offering a potential reprieve and prompting traders to unwind some risk hedges.

However, he said, this is not a structural shift in the macro landscape.

The trade war remains a major economic headwind, and with the April 2 tariff deadline looming, the growth outlook is coming back into focus.

In this scenario, Innes said, the higher tariffs go, the deeper the economic fallout, and the greater the odds of Fed easing.

“That means any near-term dips in gold could be buying opportunities, as the broader playbook stays unchanged: Tariffs up, growth down, Fed cuts on deck - gold stays in play,” he added. 

The spot-month March 2025 contract eased to US$2,992.80 per troy ounce from US$2,999.60 last Friday, while April 2025 dipped to US$3,003.10 from US$3,009.90 previously.

May 2025, June 2025 and August 2025 all dropped to US$3,013.10 per troy ounce from US$3,019.90 per troy ounce on Friday.  

The trading volume slid to 26 lots from 419 lots, while open interest narrowed to 75 contracts from 454 contracts. 

According to the London Bullion Market Association’s afternoon fix on March 14, physical gold was priced at US$2,978.05 per troy ounce.

-- BERNAMA