NEW YORK: Gold prices rose over 1percent on Thursday after two consecutive sessions of losses, as renewed geopolitical risks bolstered safe-haven demand and investors braced for key US inflation data due on Friday.
Spot gold was up 1.2percent at USD4,143.80 per ounce, as of 09:21 a.m. ET (1321 GMT), after falling to a near two-week low in the previous session. US gold futures for December delivery climbed 2.3percent to USD4,160.50 per ounce. Prices hit a record high of USD4,381.21 on Monday, but logged their steepest drop in five years in the following session.
“All the fundamental factors that have driven gold higher this year remain very much in place. There was some opportunistic buying on the dip and perhaps some uptick in trade and geopolitical tensions today fostering that,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.
Gold prices have gained about 57percent this year, driven by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, expectations of rate cuts, and sustained central bank buying. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.
The administration is also considering a plan to restrict a broad range of software-driven exports to China, in response to Beijing’s latest curbs on rare-earth exports. Focus now turns to Friday’s US consumer price index report, potentially the Federal Reserve’s clearest inflation signal ahead of next week’s policy meeting. The data is expected to show that core inflation held at 3.1percent in September.
Markets have already priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut, with another rate cut in December. Gold, a non-yielding asset, tends to benefit in low-interest-rate environments.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan forecast gold prices could reach an average of USD5,055/oz by the fourth quarter of 2026, on assumptions that investor demand and central bank buying will average around 566 tonnes per quarter next year.
Elsewhere, spot silver rose 1.6percent to USD49.29 per ounce, platinum gained 1.2percent to USD1,640.61, while palladium fell 0.1percent to USD1,457.08.
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