Investing.com — Gold prices rose in Asian trading on Thursday, benefiting from dollar weakness and government bond yields, as speculation about US rate cuts grew ahead of key inflation data.
The yellow metal posted some gains this week, buoyed by reports that several central banks in emerging markets were stocking up on the yellow metal. Softening comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also fueled the yellow metal’s advance.
rose 0.4% to $2,381.73 per ounce, while the August maturity rose 0.3% to $2,386.75 per ounce at 00:42 ET (04:42 GMT).
Gold floats as Powell’s comments spotlight CPI data
The yellow metal was trading less than $100 below a record high as Powell signaled progress toward curbing inflation in recent months.
The Fed chairman also said the central bank did not necessarily need inflation to fall below its 2% target in order to cut rates, although the bank still needed more confidence that inflation was easing.
Powell’s comments show traders largely maintained their bets on a September rate cut. Stock traders estimate a 72.5% chance of a 25 basis point cut in September.
Powell’s comments dented the , turning the focus squarely on upcoming data, due later on Thursday. Inflation is generally expected to show a slight cooling.
Other precious metals were mixed on Thursday but posted some gains this week. fell 0.2% to $1,005.25 per ounce while rising 0.9% to $31,290 per ounce, with the latter easily outperforming gold in recent months.
Still, analysts at TD Securities noted that gold was likely to rise in the near term as more buying by emerging market central banks and increased clarity on US interest rate cuts benefited the yellow metal.
Copper rises after a softer dollar, more Chinese signals were expected
Among industrial metals, copper prices rose on Thursday, also benefiting from a softer dollar. But the red metal has posted steep losses in recent sessions following mediocre economic data from top importer China.
The benchmark on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1% to $9,914.50 per tonne, while the index rose 0.5% in one month to $4.6147 per pound.
Copper fell this week after data from China largely disappointed markets and raised concerns about a slowing economic recovery in the country. Data from China, expected on Friday, was now awaited for more information on the country.
