Bengaluru — Gold prices gained on Tuesday, with a weaker dollar and US bond yields providing some support to the precious metal, even as central banks move towards easing economic stimulus.
Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,773.77 an ounce by 3.35am GMT. US gold futures gained 0.5% to $1,774.40.
Supporting gold by making it cheaper for buyers in other currencies, the dollar dropped to a two-week low against a basket of currencies.
US benchmark 10-year Treasury yields also weakened, reducing non-yielding bullion’s opportunity cost.
“Though gold is rangebound, if it holds above $1,760, it could move back to $1,782 and possibly even $1,800,” said Nicholas Frappell, global general manager at ABC Bullion, adding that a break below $1,759 could push it down to $1,737-$1,741.
“But people are not persuaded enough to go very long in gold and macro investors for instance don’t seem to be persuaded to buy more gold to hedge inflation,” Frappel said, noting that stimulus tapering by central banks was “just a fact of life”.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey sent a fresh signal on Sunday that the British central bank was gearing up to raise interest rates as inflation risks mount.
Gold is often considered an inflation hedge, though reduced stimulus and interest rate hikes push government bond yields up, in turn translating into a higher opportunity cost of holding bullion which pays no interest.
Market participants also took stock of data showing US factory production dropped in September, as a global semiconductor shortage depressed motor vehicle output, further evidence that supply constraints were hampering economic growth.
Spot silver rose 1.1% to $23.42 an ounce, while platinum gained 0.8% to $1,044.11 and palladium was up 0.7% at $2,028.39.
Reuters