Gold dips and dollar higher as traders look to Powell's Jackson Hole speech

Gold (GC=F)

Gold prices dipped slightly as the week closed out, with a key economic event in the US top of mind for traders.

Spot gold fell 0.3% to around $3,326 per troy ounce, while gold futures (GC=F) pulled 0.3% lower to the $3,373 mark. Despite the dip, gold futures are still up more than 1% over the past five sessions amid geopolitical tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war this week.

Now, market twitchers are looking for clues from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole. The Fed's stance on interest rates has remained "higher for longer" in recent months.

Read more: Stocks rise as traders await key Jackson Hole speech from Federal Reserve chair

The speech is being billed as an “Economic Outlook and Framework Review”.

The dollar also firmed, making the yellow metal more expensive for overseas buyers.

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Oil (BZ=F, CL=F)

Oil prices looked set to end the week higher, following a tumultuous week of guesswork about how a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire might play out.

Last Friday, US president Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin met in Alaska to discuss ending the conflict. European leaders and Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelensky then headed to Washington DC to hash out the next phase, as Zelensky said there would be no end to the war without his involvement. There are now plans to arrange a rare meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Sanctions on Russian oil have also been affecting the price.

Brent (BZ=F) traded around $67.89 a barrel — about 0.3% higher, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was at $63.70, also around 0.3% higher.

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Recent data showed the volumes of crude held in US storage tanks fell by 6 million barrels last week. Gasoline stockpiles also declined for a fifth straight week.

It comes as oil is still down more than 10% year-to-date amid concerns about the fallout from US trade policies and as Opec+ returns idled production.

Moscow has largely kept its oil flowing despite an array of sanctions, with a large chunk going to India. However, the South Asian nation has been singled out for criticism by the US administration for buying Russia crude, with Trump threatening New Delhi with economic penalties.

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Pound (GBPUSD=X, GBPEUR=X)

The pound fell slightly against the dollar on Friday, compounding a week-long selloff following a bout of economic data giving a new read on the UK economy.

Data released on Wednesday showed UK inflation pushed to an 18-month high last month, amid higher transport and food costs.

Story continues

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the annual rate as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) climbed to an unexpected 3.8% in July, up from 3.6% in June. It is forecast to reach 4% by the end of the year.

Transport costs, mainly as a result of higher air fares, were the largest upward driver of prices. Petrol prices nudged higher compared with last year, when prices at the pumps were falling.

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Food and non-alcoholic drinks were up 4.9% year on year in July, an increase from 4.5% in the 12 months to June.

Sterling sat at the $1.34 mark on Friday, down 1.1% from a week prior.

Sterling also rose slightly against the euro to the 1.156 mark.

The dollar index (DX-Y.NYB), which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies rose 0.1%.

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