Gold firms amid expectations of stopping US rate hikes

Gold prices stabilized today, Thursday, near their lowest levels in three weeks, which they touched in the last session, after the release of US inflation data, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will stop raising interest rates next week.

According to Reuters, by 0747 GMT, gold prices in spot transactions stabilized at $1,905.49 per ounce, hovering around their lowest levels since August 25, which they reached on Wednesday at $1,905.10. While US gold futures fell 0.3 percent to $1,926.70.

Christopher Wong, executive director of OCBC and a foreign exchange analyst, said, “The state of great uncertainty regarding the path of interest rate cuts in 2024 remains one of the factors driving gold price fluctuations.”

He added, “The US CPI data was largely within expectations, and in a way, previous concerns about rising price pressures have faded.”

The dollar index and 10-year Treasury bond yields declined after the Labor Department’s report yesterday, Wednesday, showed that the annual increase in inflation was the smallest in nearly two years, indicating that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged next week.

However, consumer prices in the United States rose in August at the largest pace in 14 months as the cost of gasoline rose.

The European Central Bank is also scheduled to announce its interest rate decision later on Thursday

As for other precious metals, silver fell in spot transactions by 1.5% to $22.49 per ounce. Platinum lost 0.1% to $898.94, and palladium fell $0.52 to $1,252.53.