Gold / Silver / Copper futures - Weekly outlook: July 22 - 26

                 Gold futures ended Friday’s session just below a one-month high, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier in the week eased concerns over the possibility the central bank will begin to taper its bond-buying program in the near future.

Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery rose 0.8% on Friday to settle the week at USD1,295.05 a troy ounce. 

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,242.35 a troy ounce, the low from July 10 and near-term resistance at USD1,301.75, the high from June 21.

On the week, gold prices advanced 0.85%, the second consecutive weekly gain.

Comex gold prices rose to a one-month high of USD1,299.45 a troy ounce on Wednesday after Bernanke said the pace of the central bank’s bond purchases are not a “preset course”.

In the first day of his semi-annual testimony to Congress, Bernanke reiterated that the Fed will continue to maintain its accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future.

He added that the central bank may taper its USD85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program later this year and halt it around mid-2014.

Bernanke said the pace of purchases could be maintained longer if conditions are less favorable.

The precious metal is on track to post a loss of 23% on the year amid concerns the Fed will start to unwind its stimulus program by the year's end.

An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies. 

In the week ahead, the U.S. is to publish data on the housing sector and manufacturing to further gauge the strength of the U.S. economy.

Any improvement in U.S. economic activity could scale back expectations for further easing, boosting the dollar and weighing on gold.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery eased up 0.4% on Friday to settle the week at USD19.46 a troy ounce. Despite Friday’s modest gains, silver future prices lost 2.15% on the week.

Meanwhile, copper for September delivery rose 0.5% on Friday to close the week at USD3.146 a pound. 

The red metal found support on Friday after China’s central bank said it was removing the lower limit on interest rates for banks, to help banks attract more borrowers.

China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.

Despite Friday’s upbeat performance, Comex copper prices shed 0.25% on the week.

Copper traders will be looking ahead to Wednesday’s data on Chinese manufacturing activity, amid ongoing concerns over the country’s economic outlook. - investing.com