By Anushree Ashish Mukherjee
(Reuters) – Gold prices gained on Friday on a softer dollar, while traders braced ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for insights on the pace of September rate cuts.
Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,499.71 per ounce by 9:23 a.m. ET (1323 GMT), but was off a record high of $2,531.60 hit on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures gained 0.8% to $2,535.70.
Bullion fell more than 1% in the previous session, setting it on course for a 0.3% weekly decline.
The dollar index fell against its rivals, making gold more attractive for other currency holders[USD/]
“I think the market is expecting more of a dovish tone, basically signalling a rate cut, and that could boost gold further, potentially pushing it between the $2550-$2600,” said Alex Ebkarian, chief operating officer at Allegiance Gold.
Powell is expected to deliver a speech at the annual central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at 1400 GMT.
Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting this week showed a number of policymakers were ready to consider rate cuts come September, while Fed policymakers on Thursday also lined up in support of rate cuts starting next month.
Traders are expecting a 73.5% chance of a 25 basis points cut in September, while 26.5% expect a deeper 50 bps cut.
“In the short term, traders will be looking for support around USD 2,470-2,475, but overall, the yellow metal can fall USD 100 towards USD 2,400 without challenging the bullish setup,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Meanwhile, spot silver rose 0.9% to $29.25 per ounce and was up nearly 1% for the week.
India’s silver imports are on course to nearly double this year due to rising demand from solar panel and electronics makers, leading importers said on Friday.
Platinum was steady at $943.90 and palladium was up 0.3% at $935.82. Both metals were on track for a weekly decline.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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