GOLD FUTURES LIKELY TO TRADE HIGHER NEXT WEEK

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 14 ( Bernama) -- The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade higher next week, buoyed by expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

An analyst said market players are anticipating a 25 basis point reduction during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for Dec 17-18.

The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is expected to trade higher next week, buoyed by expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

For the week just ended, gold futures showed higher trends, mirroring the US Comex momentum amid escalating geopolitical tensions in Syria and South Korea.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the spot-month December 2024 contract ended the week higher at US$2,678.30 per troy ounce from US$2,653.8 per troy ounce last week, and the January 2025 contract went up to US$2,691.40 per troy ounce from US $2,666.0.

The February 2025, March 2025, and April 2025 notes also settled higher at US$2,701.50 per troy ounce from US$2,678.10 per troy ounce last week.

Volume rose to 210 lots from 69 lots last week, while open interest climbed to 63 contracts from 23 contracts previously.

According to the London Bullion Market Association's afternoon fix on Dec 12, the price of physical gold stood at US$2,684.35 per troy ounce.

-- BERNAMA