Open interest in gold futures markets rose for the third session in a row on Thursday, this time by around 8.4K contracts according to preliminary readings from CME Group. Volume followed suit and went up for the third straight session, now by nearly75K contracts.

Gold: Next on the upside emerges $2070

Gold prices started the second half of the week in a strong foot and reached fresh tops around the $2040 mark per ounce troy. The uptick was on the back of increasing open interest and volume and is indicative that extra gains remain in store for the time being. That said, the next target of note comes at the 2022 peak at $2070 (March 8).