The Herald
Gold edged higher from an 11-month low as the dollar dipped, with traders dialling back expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes and assessing the outlook for inflation.
Bullion just capped its fifth straight weekly loss, the longest streak of such declines in almost four years, with investors favouring the greenback as a haven asset, and tighter monetary policy weighing on the non-interest bearing precious metal.
Federal Reserve officials are on track to raise rates by 75 basis points for the second straight month when they meet later in July, after policy makers pushed back against a bigger hike. Investors reversed bets on a full percentage-point move after wary comments from officials including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and St Louis’s James Bullard, along with a drop in US consumer long-term inflation expectations, which eased some fears that price pressures are becoming entrenched.
Data on Friday also showed US retail sales were stronger than expected in June, underscoring a resilient economy despite tightening monetary policy. Investors were also weighing China’s pledges to shore up growth.
Still, the outlook for the global economy remains cloudy, with the International Monetary Fund saying it will cut its growth outlook “substantially” in its next update, as finance chiefs grapple with a shrinking list of options to address the worsening risks.
“Gold prices are seeing some slight reprieve into today’s session with a lift from the US dollar’s weakness, but prices continue to trade with a downward bias,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG Asia. “We may have to see some signs of ‘peak hawkishness’ kicking in over the coming months, in order for gold to regain some market confidence.”
Spot gold rose 0,4 percent to US$1 714.49 an ounce at 10:37am in Singapore. Prices dipped below US$1 700 last week for the first time since August. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0,3 percent after hitting a record last week. Silver, platinum and palladium all advanced. –Bloomberg
