Gold steady as investors adopt cautious tone ahead of French elections
London — Gold prices treaded water on Friday as investors awaited the outcome of weekend French elections and possible announcements about tax cuts in the US. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,282.59/oz at 10.50am GMT, on track for its first weekly drop in six. US gold futures also added 0.1% to $1,284.40. "The big news over the weekend will be the French election and the market will be to an extent on hold ahead of that," said Mitsubishi commodities analyst Jonathan Butler. There was the potential for safe-haven buying of gold after France said its security forces were fully mobilised for a presidential election at the weekend after the killing of a policeman by an Islamist militant. "Into the near term, if the geopolitical tensions intensify, there is a chance that gold prices will reach $1,300 or more," OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan said. Moving above $1,290/oz-$1,291/oz would be significant as it would break above a downtrend that had been in place since gold touched a record high of $1,9...
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