Gold rises on safety demand as markets look to 2025 in holiday lull

Biden calls for more weapons to Ukraine after Russia’s Christmas attack

Bullion has risen by 28% so far in 2024

Next year is going to be very volatile for gold – analyst

(Updates for market close)

By Sherin Elizabeth Varghese

Dec 26 (Reuters) – Gold prices rose on Thursday, driven by safe-haven demand in light trading after the Christmas holiday, as markets awaited signals on the U.S. economy under the incoming Trump administration and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate strategy for 2025.

Spot gold rose 0.9% to $2,635.29 per ounce, as of 01:47 p.m. ET (1847 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled 0.7% higher at $2,653.90.

“Some of gold’s gains had to do with what’s going on in Ukraine with Russia hitting Ukraine’s electrical system,” said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he asked the U.S. Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine after condemning Russia’s Christmas Day attack against some of Ukraine’s cities and its energy system.

“Gold will still be purchased by central banks, and as inflation continues, you may see increased demand for gold on the retail side as well,” Pavilonis said, adding that prices are expected to break $3,000 next year.

Gold is considered a hedge against geopolitical turmoil and inflation, but higher rates reduce the appeal of holding the non-yielding asset. The yellow metal has gained 28% so far this year and scored an all-time peak of $2,790.15 on Oct. 31.

Next year will be very volatile for bullion, with first-half gains on heightened geopolitical tensions and profit-taking in the second half, said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities, Mumbai.

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House in January, markets will be closely monitoring U.S. economic data to gauge how the Fed will navigate inflationary pressures anticipated from his administration’s policies, including tariffs, deregulation and tax reforms.

After aggressively cutting rates in September and November, the Fed persisted with easing in December but hinted at fewer reductions in 2025.

Spot silver rose 0.4% to $29.72 per ounce, platinum fell 0.9% to $935.25 and palladium shed 3% to $925.08.

(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese, Anushree Mukherjee and Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Swati Verma; Editing by Alistair Bell, Richard Chang and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)