Weaker dollar lifts gold to one-week high
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Bengaluru — Gold steadied near a one-week high on Thursday as the dollar weakened, but the gold traded in a narrow $8 range as investors held back from making large bets ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) monetary policy decision due later in the day.
Spot gold was flat at $1,945.87/oz by 3.07am GMT, after hitting its highest level since September 3 at $1,950.51 on Wednesday. US gold futures were steady at $1,955.50.
“The US dollar is a bit lower, stocks bounced a bit and that essentially carried over to gold as well,” said DailyFx currency strategist Ilya Spivak.
Asian stock markets on Thursday snapped their longest losing streak since February after a bounce on Wall Street, while the dollar index slipped from four-week highs, making gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.
“The ECB meeting is an important piece of event risk ... At some extent gold may be waiting for not even just the ECB, but also for the US CPI [consumer price index] data and the Federal Reserve next week,” Spivak said.
The ECB is all but certain to keep policy unchanged when it announces its decision at 11.45am GMT, which will then be followed by a news conference by its president, Christine Lagarde. The US central bank will follow closely with a two-day meeting set for next week. Major central banks have rolled out unprecedented stimulus measures and kept interest rates low, driving gold to new highs because of its role as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement.
“Ample money supply, lower interest rates and macro uncertainty should support gold investment,” ANZ analysts said in a note. “Physical demand is recovering, so we see the gold price reaching $2,300/oz next year.”
Elsewhere, silver was steady at $27.02/oz, platinum rose 0.4% to $919.24 and palladium gained 1% at $2,295.85.
Reuters
Spot gold was flat at $1,945.87/oz by 3.07am GMT, after hitting its highest level since September 3 at $1,950.51 on Wednesday. US gold futures were steady at $1,955.50.
“The US dollar is a bit lower, stocks bounced a bit and that essentially carried over to gold as well,” said DailyFx currency strategist Ilya Spivak.
Asian stock markets on Thursday snapped their longest losing streak since February after a bounce on Wall Street, while the dollar index slipped from four-week highs, making gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.
“The ECB meeting is an important piece of event risk ... At some extent gold may be waiting for not even just the ECB, but also for the US CPI [consumer price index] data and the Federal Reserve next week,” Spivak said.
The ECB is all but certain to keep policy unchanged when it announces its decision at 11.45am GMT, which will then be followed by a news conference by its president, Christine Lagarde. The US central bank will follow closely with a two-day meeting set for next week. Major central banks have rolled out unprecedented stimulus measures and kept interest rates low, driving gold to new highs because of its role as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement.
“Ample money supply, lower interest rates and macro uncertainty should support gold investment,” ANZ analysts said in a note. “Physical demand is recovering, so we see the gold price reaching $2,300/oz next year.”
Elsewhere, silver was steady at $27.02/oz, platinum rose 0.4% to $919.24 and palladium gained 1% at $2,295.85.
Reuters