GOLD prices ticked up on Thursday (Dec 29) as the US dollar eased, with traders awaiting new indications on the Federal Reserve’s rate hike plans.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent to US$1,806.28 per ounce as of 0105 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.2 per cent to US$1,812.50.
The dollar index slipped 0.1 per cent. A weaker greenback makes bullion less expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
Bullion prices dropped 1 per cent on Wednesday, pressured by a stronger dollar and higher Treasury yields.
Investors’ focus now shifts to the US weekly initial jobless claims data due at 1330 GMT.
Gold has risen nearly US$200 from a more than two-year low hit in September on expectations that the US central bank would slow its pace of interest rate hikes, increasing the appeal of the non-yielding asset.
Top bullion consumer China on Monday scrapped its Covid-19 quarantine rule for inbound travellers even as hospitals and funeral homes were under intense pressure from surging Covid-19 cases.
Contracts to buy US previously owned homes fell far more than expected in November, diving for a sixth straight month in the latest indication of the hefty toll the Fed’s interest rate hikes are taking on the housing market as the central bank seeks to curb inflation.
Spot silver gained 0.2 per cent to US$23.58, platinum slipped 0.1 per cent to US$1,006.98 and palladium rose 0.2 per cent to US$1,787.04.
(Source : BUSINESS TIME) , all rights reserved by original source.
