By Seher Dareen
(Reuters) – Gold prices climbed on Thursday to a near nine-week peak, amid a weaker dollar and bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve might soon pause its interest rate hiking cycle.
Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,984.29 per ounce by 0521 GMT, close to its highest since mid-May. U.S. gold futures were up 0.3% to $1,987.20.
Gold has been supported by the dollar weakening and inflation prints coming in lower, said Brian Lan of Singapore dealer GoldSilver Central.
The dollar index was 0.2% lower, close to an over one-year low, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies. [USD/]
The Fed is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points (bps) at its meeting next week, keeping them in the 5.25%-5.5% range in 2023, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
“We’ve already seen that the market hasn’t gone into a recession, I don’t think there is an urgent need to cut (rates) back (in 2023),” Lan added.
Lower interest rates help bullion as it reduces the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.
Investors will keep an eye out for initial U.S. jobless claims data for the week of July 15 later in the day, which is forecast to rise to 242,000 from a seasonally adjusted 237,000.
“U.S. jobless claims have been rising over the 2Q – the market is expecting a sideways move – I think if we see jobless claims flat to higher I’d expect a positive move on gold,” said Baden Moore, head of carbon and commodity strategy at National Australia Bank.
In Asia, China’s monetary authorities ramped up efforts to defend a weakening currency by relaxing rules to allow companies to borrow more overseas and adjusting a daily benchmark, alongside yuan-buying trades by state-owned banks. [CNY/]
However, Chinese stocks slipped as the government’s vow to support the private economy failed to excite investors.
Spot silver rose 0.2% to $25.21 per ounce, platinum was down 0.1% to $971.87 while palladium slipped 0.6% to $1,300.21.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Sonia Cheema and Varun H K)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.