14/5-21/5: Weekly precious metals prices & returns update – international gold drops, CBE leaves rates unchanged, local gold rises - and more.
Market Watch
Weekly Change of Local & International Gold Prices
| Close | Close | Weekly Change | |
| International Gold (LBMA) ($/Oz) | 2,010.9 | 1,977.7 | -1.65% |
| International Gold (LMBA) ($/g) | 64.6 | 63.6 | -1.65% |
| International Gold ($/g) quoted in EGP | 2,000.8 | 1,967.8 | -1.65% |
| Local Gold (LE/g) (24k) | 2,714.0 | 2,754.0 | 1.47% |
| Premium/Discount* | 26.3% | 28.5% |
* Difference between the local and international traded price of gold
Weekly Change of Other Key Precious Metals Prices
| ($/Oz) | |||
| Silver | 24.0 | 23.9 | -0.5% |
| Platinum | 1,053.9 | 1,067.3 | 1.3% |
| Palladium | 1,511.9 | 1,511.9 | 0.0% |
Weekly Returns of Local Gold Compared to Alternative Asset Classes
| Local Gold (LE/g) (24k) | 2,714.0 | 2,754.0 | 1.4% |
| EGX 30 | 17,270.0 | 16,745.5 | -3.04% |
| 1 Year EGP T-Bill** (Yield) | 23.7 | 23.8 | -0.36%*** |
| Official Exchange Rate | 30.95 | 30.95 | 0% |
** Weighted average accepted bids of weekly one-year T-Bill
*** When the yield on T-Bills increases the price of the security decreases, therefore the weekly change is negative, and the opposite is true.
Global Update
Unlike U.S and Egypt’s inflation rates which dropped in April 2023, E.U. Inflation accelerated to reach 7% in April compared to 6.9% in June.
High energy costs were the main instigators of a collectively higher April inflation in the Euro-zone countries for the month of April, despite a record 3.75% interest rate hike in less than 2 years. E.U. inflation remains well over the ECB target of 2% which can point to potential interest rate hikes over the coming period.
Gold prices dropped last week by around 1.65% from $/Oz 2,010 to close the week at $/Oz 1,978. The slight drop in gold prices can be attributed to the U. S’s overall positive economic performance, reflected in Q1 2023 key economic indicators such as unemployment, inflation, and GDP growth.
Local Update
Last week, the price of the 24k local gold reversed its almost 1-month downwards trend to close the week at LE/g 2,754, recording a weekly gain of around 1.5%.
The CBE decided to leave rates unchanged, with the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, the rate of the main operation and the discount rates at 18.25%, 19.25%, 18.75%, and 18.75% respectively.
As expected, the CBE attributed the decision to the drop in global commodity prices, the easing of global supply chain pressures and the slowdown of inflation in Egypt during the month of April.