Gold prices strengthened in Asian trading on Friday, setting the stage for a fourth consecutive month of gains as investors doubled down on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December. The metal briefly dipped in the previous session but quickly regained traction, with traders maintaining confidence that policy easing is approaching.
Safe-haven appetite also expanded as global equities showed signs of fatigue after weeks of risk-on momentum. Geopolitical tensions—from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to rising diplomatic strains between China and Japan—added further support to bullion positioning.
Spot gold advanced 0.6% to $4,183.01 per ounce by 01:21 ET (05:21 GMT). Trading across gold and broader metals futures, however, faced temporary disruptions following a technical outage at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
November Delivers Strong Gains Across Metals
Gold’s performance in November remained notably resilient. The metal posted a 4.6% monthly increase, reinforcing its upward momentum despite early-month volatility driven by shifting expectations for Fed policy. Renewed confidence in a December rate cut helped the metal recover, contributing to a nearly 3% gain for the week.
Market pricing now reflects an 82.8% probability of a 25-basis-point cut during the Fed’s December 9–10 meeting—up sharply from 28.5% just one week earlier, according to CME FedWatch data. Dovish remarks from several Fed officials, paired with weaker U.S. economic indicators, strengthened assumptions that monetary easing is imminent.
While a softer dollar supported gold, other precious metals also rallied:
- Platinum jumped 2.4% to $1,643.04/oz
- Silver climbed 1.3% to $54.0905/oz, nearing a record
- Both metals gained 4.5% and 11.3% respectively throughout November
CME Outage Disrupts Commodity Trading
Trading activity thinned further on Friday as a CME data-center outage halted futures across several metal and commodity contracts. Gold, platinum, copper, and silver futures all recorded their last visible trade at 00:00 ET.
CME Group attributed the disruption to a cooling malfunction at a CyrusOne facility and said it was working to restore full operations. The outage followed the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, amplifying already reduced trading volume.
Despite the interruption, market sentiment remained firmly aligned with expectations of easier U.S. monetary policy—setting the tone for continued strength in precious metals into December.
