Precious metals slammed again on Friday

Precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper were pummeled on Friday, dropping from 0.2% to 1.5%. Gold remains in a bearish trend, posting lower lows and lower highs, silver seems choppy, and copper still trades within a clear long-term uptrend.

Meanwhile, the UK GDP grew 1% in the fourth quarter, double what analysts expected, averting the immediate prospect of another pandemic-induced recession. 

However, the UK economy contracted 9.9% yearly, the most significant decline on record, mainly due to the strict lockdowns, which are continuing nowadays.

From other news, the OPEC and the IEA lowered their forecasts for world oil consumption in 2021 by 100,000 and 200,000 barrels a day, respectively, citing the lockdowns in major developed countries, mainly Europe, in the first half of the year. 

Oil slipped somewhat after the news and was down half a percent on Friday but remains one of the best-performing assets since the COVID crash in March 2020.

The greenback was seen stronger on Friday morning, with the EURUSD pair falling below 1.21 and the USDJPY pair pushing above 105.

Source: https://www.axiory.com/market-news/precious-metals-slammed-again-on-friday