Gold Futures Settle Slightly Higher

Gold futures settled modestly higher on Friday, aided by a weak dollar, and waning risk sentiment amid uncertainty about the impact of Evergrande’s debt crisis, and rising inflation worries.

Evergrande missed two deadlines to pay more than $180 million in interest to foreign investors who hold its dollar-denominated bonds.

Investors fear that supply chain disruptions across the globe could keep inflation higher for a longer period than thought.

The dollar index dropped to 93.99, losing more than 0.25% from Thursday’s close.

Gold futures for December ended up by $1.40 or nearly 0.1% at $1,758.40 an ounce.

Gold futures gained about 0.4% in the week.

Silver futures for December ended higher by $0.489 at $22.536 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $4.1885 per pound, up $0.0995 from the previous close.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government averted a shutdown by passing a stopgap spending bill, but it risks a potential default amid an impasse over raising the debt ceiling.

In her Congressional testimony, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned of “catastrophic economic consequences” if the debt ceiling is not raised by October 18th.

A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity but noted persistent supply chain issues.

The ISM said is manufacturing PMI crept up to 61.1 in September from 59.9 in August, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 59.6.

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