Gold falls B50 to pare 3-week rally

Gold prices in Bangkok slipped 50 baht per baht weight at 9.12am on Saturday.

The Gold Traders Association announced the buying price at 19,850 baht and the selling price at 19,950 baht per baht-weight for gold bars.

The buying price for gold ornaments was 19,556.40 while their selling price was 20,350 baht per baht-weight.

The prices were adjusted twice on Friday for a total gain of 100 baht from the previous close on Thursday. 

In world markets, Bloomberg reported from London that gold futures fell, paring gains from a three-week rally, as Goldman Sachs Group Inc said low inflation and higher US interest rates will drag down prices later in 2015.

Goldman pegged the metal at an average $1,089 an ounce for 2016 and $1,050 in 2017, both down from $1,200 forecasts. Gold will be supported at current levels for the next few months because of weaker-than-expected US economic data and more stimulus from the European Central Bank, the New York-based bank said on Friday in a report.

“We continue to expect that gold prices will decline,” analysts including Max Layton wrote. “Our confidence in lower gold prices for longer has increased on the back of lower-than-expected inflation in the coming years.”

Gold futures for February delivery declined 0.6% to settle at $1,292.60 at 1.52pm on the Comex in New York. On Thursday, the price reached $1,307.80, the highest for a most-active contract since Aug 15.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose on Friday to the highest since December 2007, and the euro pared declines against the dollar, eroding the appeal of gold as an alternative asset.

This month, gold has jumped 9.2% as stagnating economies challenged policy makers to find new ways to buoy growth. European Central Bank president Mario Draghi pledged to buy 60 billion euros ($67 billion) of debt a month through September next year.

Silver futures for March delivery fell 0.3% to $18.30 an ounce. This year, the price has jumped 17%, the most among 22 raw materials in the Bloomberg Commodity Index.

Gold and silver posted the third straight weekly advances, the longest rallies since mid-July.