Gold prices recorded their highest levels in two weeks and are close to exceeding the level of $1,900 an ounce, today, Thursday, in conjunction with the faltering of the dollar and Treasury bond yields before the eagerly awaited US inflation report, which may shed some light on the Federal Reserve’s upcoming directions regarding interest rates.
Gold and dollar now
Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,895 an ounce.
Meanwhile, spot gold contracts rose by 0.41% to $1,882 per ounce.
On the other hand, the dollar index fell by 0.22% to 105.337 points.
Gold at settlement yesterday
Gold prices turned higher at the settlement of trading yesterday, Wednesday, with US 10-year bond yields declining to touch their lowest levels in two weeks, amid investors’ evaluation of economic data from the United States to anticipate the path of monetary policy.
Upon settlement, gold futures for December delivery rose by 0.65%, or $12, to reach $1,887.3 per ounce, the highest settlement since last September 27.
Gold's gains will remain limited
The dollar index and US Treasury yields were near two-week lows, making non-interest bearing gold more attractive.
Growing uncertainty about the path of the U.S. economy pushed policymakers into a newly dovish stance last month, minutes of the Fed's September meeting showed, a stance reaffirmed by senior Fed officials in a series of statements this week.
Federal Reserve policymakers agreed last month that monetary policy should remain tight for some time in order to continue to cool inflation.
“We are almost at the end of rate hikes, and there will likely be a final 25 basis point hike, which will not have a major impact on the market because that is largely expected,” said Brian Lane, managing director at GoldSilver Central. .
Lan added: But one thing is certain, people expect interest rates to continue to rise... and this will limit the rise in the price of precious metals (broadly).
Higher interest rates raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, which remains more than 9% down from near record levels set in May. While investors still see a 26% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's December meeting.
CPI data, which is expected to show inflation moderated last month, is due later in the day and comes after data on Wednesday showed that US producer prices rose more than expected in September, but underlying inflation pressures continued to ease.
Official data showed that the producer price index in the United States rose by 0.5% during September on a monthly basis, while it was expected to rise by 0.3%, but it is considered a slowdown from the 0.7% increase in August.
other metals
Spot silver rose 0.4% to $22.15 an ounce, platinum rose 0.8% to $891.84, and palladium rose 0.7% to $1,175.29.