Gold shines as dollar falls and US data is in spotlight

Gold prices rose today, Thursday, with the weakness of the dollar, while investors prepared for a set of US economic data issued before the monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve (Central Bank) next week.

By 0230 GMT, spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1996.50 an ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.5 percent to $2005.20.

According to Reuters, the dollar index fell 0.1 percent on Thursday, making the yellow metal less expensive for holders of other currencies.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill to raise the government’s debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion.

Meanwhile, the market value of First Republic Bank fell again on Wednesday as investors wait to see if it will be able to find buyers for the assets and turn around without government support.

Edward Meer, metals analyst at Marex, said that given the “general turbulent atmosphere regarding the banking situation” and “uncertainty regarding the debt ceiling, it is likely that gold will be more sensitive to the upside than the downside.”

Gold, which is considered a safe haven, rose to its highest level in a year at $ 2048.71 in mid-April, when the banking crisis unfolded and weak economic readings in the United States reinforced bets on a temporary pause in raising interest rates.

Low interest rates increase the attractiveness of gold, which does not yield a return

Traders will closely follow the quarterly US GDP and weekly jobless claims data due at 1230 GMT, after data on Wednesday showed that new orders for key US-made commodities fell more than expected in March, while shipments fell. Which suggests that lower spending on equipment led to a decline in economic growth in the first quarter of the year

As for other precious metals, spot silver increased 0.5 percent to $25.02 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.3% to $1,092.68, and palladium rose 0.1% to $1,513.81.