Gold prices rise as Fed backs rate cut

Gold prices rose on Monday, extending gains from the previous session, after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell boosted expectations of a rate cut in September.

Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $2,516.09 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.2 percent to $2,551.30.

The dollar hovered near its lowest level in nearly eight months, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, while 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell.

The head of the U.S. central bank said last Friday that he supports cutting interest rates, saying that “the time has come for the U.S. central bank to cut rates amid rising risks to the labor market even as inflation approaches the U.S. central bank’s 2 percent target.”

Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.3% to $29.90 an ounce, platinum was flat at $962.65, and palladium fell 0.3% to $959.43.