LONDON: Gold prices rose on Wednesday, helped by a weaker dollar ahead of the release of minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting that could hint at the pace of future interest rate rises.
The minutes, to be published at 1900 GMT, come after outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen said rates should rise gradually but warned she was "very uncertain" that inflation would soon rebound, suggesting a cautious approach to rate increases.
Gold is sensitive to rising rates because they tend to boost the dollar, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, and push up bond yields, reducing the appeal of non-yielding gold.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,283.51 an ounce at 1034 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery were 0.1 percent higher at $1,283.40 an ounce.
Gold has benefited from a flattening in the US Treasury yield curve that has supported the Japanese yen and pushed the dollar lower, Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
The US yield curve hit the lowest in a decade on Tuesday on expectations that the Fed will raise rates and the government will increase debt issuance in short- and intermediate-dated maturities while delaying big increases at longer dates.
"Gold has been stuck in a range with an average price of $1,280 since early October but we are seeing some higher lows and higher highs, which indicates there is underlying support
for the market," Hansen said.
Investors were keen to own gold to hedge against risks including a fall in global stock markets from current record highs, he said, predicting gold would rise to $1,325 by the end of the year.
Bets on higher gold prices by money managers increased last week for the first time since early September.
However, rising US interest rates through next year were likely to strengthen the dollar and put pressure on gold, said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.
On the technical side, resistance was at the 50-day moving average around $1,286 and a Fibonacci level at $1,295.40 and momentum was upward, analysts at ScotiaMocatta said in a note.
Commerzbank analysts said gold was holding steadily above its 200-day moving average and they expected an attempt to break above $1,297.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.