Gold price rises on Fed hints about US interest rate cuts: iSagha

Gold prices rose slightly in local markets on Saturday, following gains the previous week on growing expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut next month.

The price of 21-carat gold per gram reached 3,465 Egyptian pounds on Sunday, five Egyptian pounds more than at the close on Saturday, according to Saeed Embaby, CEO of online gold and jewelry trading platform iSaqa. The ounce closed the week at $2,512, up four dollars or 0.2 percent on the week.

Embaby pointed out that the price of 24-karat gold is EGP 3,960 per gram, 18-karat gold is EGP 2,970 per gram, 14-karat gold is EGP 2,310 per gram and a pound of gold is EGP 27,720.

Gold prices on the local market rose by about EGP 5 during trading on Friday. The price of 21-carat gold per gram started at EGP 3,455 and ended at EGP 3,460. Meanwhile, gold prices on the global exchange rose by USD 29. The ounce opened at USD 2,483 and closed at USD 2,512.

Embaby explained that the global gold price opened the week at $2,508 per ounce, fell to $2,490 and then rose again above $2,500. He added that on Tuesday, gold prices hit an all-time high of $2,532, but this rise was short-lived and prices fell back to $2,506.

He noted that gold prices experienced a period of relative stability and consolidation in the middle of the week, trading between $2,500 and $2,519. However, on Thursday morning, the release of worse-than-expected U.S. unemployment figures drove gold prices from $2,503 to a one-week low of $2,475 per ounce.

He noted that gold prices moved slowly over the last two days of the week, first recovering above the $2,500 mark and then rising sharply after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech in Jackson Hole.

The iSaqa CEO explained that now is a good time for gold as it is likely to reach historic highs in the near future as the US Federal Reserve begins to cut interest rates. Markets received a clearer signal of this on Friday during Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Central Bank Symposium.

Gold prices rose about 1% at the close on Friday after Jerome Powell hinted at a possible U.S. interest rate cut in September, warning that “downside risks” threatening the U.S. labor market had increased.

In his speech, Powell said: “It is time to adjust policy. The direction is clear, and the timing and pace of any rate cuts will depend on incoming data, evolving forecasts and risk balances.”

Powell added that the Federal Reserve will do “everything in its power to support a strong labor market while continuing to make progress toward price stability,” warning that upside risks to inflation have declined while downside risks to employment have increased.