Gold closed the week with a nearly 2% loss as investors were concerned about the UK’s elevated inflation, which is likely to prompt a more aggressive rate hike by the Bank of England amid slowing growth. The Euro-zone manufacturing PMI data fell to a three-year low due to high borrowing costs, while Germany’s manufacturing PMI came in worse than expected. Although the US PMI data was somewhat better than its European counterparts, US yields fell on recession fears, thereby helping gold recover from its cyclical low. In the near term, the outlook for gold remains weak, though yields could be the main driver in the very short term.
