Gold scales near nine-month peak on bullish sentiment over Fed rate hikes

Bengaluru — Gold prices climbed to a near nine-month high on Monday as a softer dollar and expectations of slower interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve added to the bullion's shine.

Spot gold was up 0.3% to $1,926.07 per ounce at 5.11am, its highest level since late April 2022. US gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,930.30.

The dollar index slipped 0.4%, making dollar-priced gold a more attractive bet.

“Fed remains the focus. The market is of the view that the Fed's rate-hike cycle is slowing and may come to an end soon, which is helping gold,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

“Prices are seeing good support around the $1,900-$1,920 levels. The next key level of resistance will be around $1,970.”

The Fed raised rates by 75 basis points (bps) four times last year, before slowing to a 50 bps increase in December. Most traders expect a 25 bps hike at the US central bank's next policy meeting during January 31-February 1.

Bullion is a non-yielding asset, hence gold tends to benefit amid lower rates as it reduces returns on other assets such as government bonds and the dollar.

Investors will also keep an eye out for the US retail sales data due on Wednesday.

A survey on Friday showed U.S. consumers are becoming more confident that price pressures will ease considerably over the next 12 months, their one-year inflation expectations falling in January to the lowest level since the spring of 2021.

Spot silver edged 0.6% higher to $24.40, after hitting a near two-week peak.

Platinum gained 0.4% to $1,068.51 and palladium slipped 0.8% to $1,776.22.

Reuters