By Harshit Verma
(Reuters) – Gold prices inched higher from nearly two-week low levels on Tuesday, as the dollar and Treasury yields slipped, and traders took stock of missing signs of de-escalations in the Middle-East.
Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $2,027.85 per ounce, as of 0612 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since Jan. 25 on Monday.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,044.00 per ounce.
The dollar index fell 0.1%, while yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury slid to 4.1250%, making non-yielding bullion more appealing for other currency holders. [US/][USD/]
The U.S. continued its campaign against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, while Palestinians hoped U.S. secretary of state- Antony Blinken’s visit to the Middle East would clinch a truce before a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah.
Gold, considered a safe-haven investment, tends to gain during times of political uncertainty.
With the Federal Reserve pushing back on rate cuts and strong economic data in the U.S., nothing has been left to support gold other than the Middle East tension, said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
Two Fed officials said that the U.S. central bank did not need to be overly concerned by recent higher-than-expected economic growth and employment figures and could take time before deciding to lower interest rates, echoing Powell’s prudence in determining when to cut rates.
Traders have repriced their bets to four quarter-point cuts for 2024, down from six last Monday, according to LSEG’s interest rate probability app IRPR. [FEDWATCH]
Investors are awaiting remarks from at least eight Fed speakers this week for further clues on the timing of rate cuts.
Spot silver rose 0.3% to $22.42 per ounce, while palladium jumped 1.4% to $961.38 and platinum rose 0.3% to $898.84.
(Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich)
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