Gold prices moved higher in Asian trading on Friday and remained on track for a fourth straight month of gains. The rise was driven by stronger expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December.
After a brief dip in the previous session, bullion quickly recovered as traders kept their positions on a December rate cut. Demand for safe-haven assets also improved. This came as an equity rally began to cool and geopolitical tensions — including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and a diplomatic dispute between China and Japan — added uncertainty to markets.
Spot gold advanced 0.6% to $4,183.01 per ounce by 01:21 ET (05:21 GMT). Trading in gold futures and other metals faced interruptions after a technical outage at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange caused by a data center issue.
Gold Set for a Positive November
Spot gold climbed 4.6% in November, marking its fourth consecutive month of gains. Earlier in the month, the metal saw some volatility as markets questioned the likelihood of a December rate cut. However, confidence returned over the past week, fueling strong upward momentum.
Gold was also nearly 3% higher this week.
Market data from CME FedWatch showed traders now pricing in an 82.8% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s December 9–10 meeting. This is a sharp jump from the 28.5% probability recorded just a week earlier. Dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials and weaker U.S. economic reports strengthened expectations for policy easing.
A weaker U.S. dollar supported broader metal prices. Spot platinum rose 2.4% to $1,643.04 per ounce, while spot silver gained 1.3% to $54.0905 per ounce and moved closer to a record high. Both metals posted significant monthly increases, rising 4.5% and 11.3%, respectively, in November.
CME Outage Disrupts Commodity Trading
A major outage at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange disrupted trading in several commodity futures and derivatives on Friday. Equity futures were also affected. Contracts for gold, platinum, copper, and silver all recorded their last trade at 00:00 ET (05:00 GMT).
According to CME Group, the interruption was linked to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers. The exchange said it was working to restore full functionality. The outage contributed to unusually thin trading volumes following the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
