NEW YORK: Gold bounced from a near one-month low on Wednesday as the US dollar and Treasury yields retreated from recent highs, while investors awaited US payrolls data due later this week for cues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path.
Spot gold rose 1.1 percent to USD4,373.87 an ounce by 09:57 a.m. EDT (1357 GMT), rebounding from its lowest level since August 7 hit earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.6 percent to USD4,423.90.
“One of the reasons that gold has been able to move back above unchanged is we have seen a little tick down in yields for the day and that has allowed gold to bounce off some of the recent lows,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
“Clearly, the energy complex and yields remain a major focus for the gold market moving forward.”
US Treasury yields eased after touching nearly three-year highs earlier in the session, while the dollar also slipped from a near three-week peak.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said rising long-term bond yields are not driven by inflation fears but are instead a reflection of a solid economy.
Meanwhile, US private payroll growth came in below expectations in August, but gold prices remained largely unmoved as investors looked ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report.
“ADP is unreliable and it might set the tone for non-farm, but non-farm is by far the most important one (for markets),” added Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis at Stone X.
Traders are now pricing in a 64 percent chance of an interest rate hike at the central bank’s policy meeting this month, the CME FedWatch Tool showed.
Elsewhere, the Dutch central bank said it had transferred 86 metric tons of gold from New York and Ottawa to London over the past six months to improve tradability and bolster crisis preparedness.
Among other metals, spot silver gained 1.6 percent to USD65.2858 per ounce, platinum rose 1.8 percent to USD1,771.52, and palladium rose 2.4 percent to USD1,342.50.
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