World gold prices adjusted slightly in the first trading session of the week after recording the first week of increase since the end of May. In the context of the market waiting for the minutes of the monetary policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), a new report by the World Gold Council (WGC) also gave noteworthy scenarios for the developments of precious metals in the second half of the year.
As of 1:46 PM Vietnam time, spot gold price decreased by 0.66% to 4,154.81 USD/ounce. Meanwhile, August gold futures contracts increased by 1%, to 4,166.19 USD/ounce.
After the US jobs report was released last week, market expectations for the Fed's interest rate roadmap continued to adjust. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of the Fed raising interest rates at the September meeting is currently around 55%, down from over 60% before new data were released.
In the Gold Mid-Year Outlook 2026 report, the World Gold Council (WGC) said that gold prices are currently about 7% lower than the peak set in January, but are still in the group of assets with the best performance in the past year.
The WGC assesses that the current gold price level generally reflects the global economic context with moderate growth, inflation cooling down but still high, and expectations that central banks will only continue to tighten monetary policy at a limited level. In the basic scenario, this organization believes that gold prices are likely to fluctuate in the range of about ±5% compared to the current level.
According to the WGC, the outlook for the gold market in the second half of the year will continue to depend on factors such as global economic growth, inflation developments, interest rate expectations, central bank demand for gold and geopolitical risks. The report also noted that if the economy weakens or new shocks appear, gold prices may regain momentum. Conversely, in the event of positive growth, bond yields increase and market sentiment become more stable, the precious metal may continue to be under adjustment pressure.
In the precious metals market, silver prices decreased 1.1% to 61.73 USD/ounce. Platinum prices fell 0.27% to 1,637.98 USD/ounce, while palladium fell 0.55% to 1,265.50 USD/ounce.
