World gold prices in the trading session on April 30 continued to maintain their upward momentum, but have not established a clear trend as investors consider the mixed signals from the US economy and the tense developments in the Middle East.
According to newly released data, the US economy grew by 2% in the first quarter, higher than the 0.5% of the previous quarter but still lower than the expected 2.2%. Along with that, core PCE increased by 3.2% in the past 12 months - still higher than the US Federal Reserve (Fed) target of 2%. This shows that price pressure has not completely cooled down, although it has not accelerated strongly.
Analysts believe that the combination of slowing growth and maintaining high inflation is raising concerns about the risk of "inflation stagnation".
Adam Button - chief strategist at Forexlive. com - said that current data is "close to the inflation trough", as inflation remains persistent in a context of not too positive growth.
In a positive direction, the US labor market continued to show stability when the number of initial jobless claims decreased to 189,000, significantly lower than forecast. This information helped gold prices rise to a high in the session, reaching at one point about 4,629 USD/ounce, up nearly 2% in the day.
In addition, the weakening USD also created support for precious metals. Bottom-fishing activity after previous adjustments has pushed gold futures prices up sharply, sometimes up to 4,648 USD/ounce.
However, the market is still heavily affected by geopolitical factors. Escalating tensions between the US and Iran have caused Brent oil prices to jump above 120 USD/barrel, increasing concerns about global inflation.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that rising energy costs could push inflation back in many major economies.
In Europe, slowing growth while consumer prices are escalating is posing a risk of inflation. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that negative impacts could last for many years.
In this context, the Fed continues to keep interest rates unchanged, but within this agency, opposing views have emerged on policy orientation. Some members believe that more caution is needed with the risk of inflation.
Experts believe that gold prices in the short term may continue to fluctuate in a narrow range, as the market waits for more clear signals from monetary policy and global geopolitical developments.
