Gold held near nine-month highs on Monday, aided by expectations of slower interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
FUNDAMENTALS
- Spot gold was little changed at $1,918.60 per ounce, as of 0014 GMT. Earlier, prices had hit $1,922.25, its highest since April 2022.
- U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,920.10.
- Market participants are mostly expecting a 25 basis points (bps) rate hike increase at the Fed's next policy meeting.
- Lower rates tend to be beneficial for gold as they decrease the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion.
- U.S. consumers are becoming more confident that price pressures will ease considerably over the next 12 months, with a survey on Friday showing their one-year inflation expectations falling in January to the lowest level since the spring of 2021.
- Premiums for physical gold rose sharply in China last week, buoyed by optimism around the country's reopening before Lunar New Year festivities, while Indian traders offered steeper discounts as record-high local prices dented consumer sentiment.
- Spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $24.28, platinum was flat at $1,065.10 and palladium slipped 0.9% to $1,773.25.
Source: The Economic Times
BDST: 1633 HRS, JAN 16, 2023
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