© Reuters. Gold bars in a photo from the Reuters archive.
(Reuters) – It extended its gains for a third straight session on Thursday, falling after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US central bank could ease the pace of interest rate hikes in December.
It rose 8.3% in November, ending seven months in losses after Powell’s remarks at the Brookings Institution were warmly received by investors.
Lowering interest rates increases the attractiveness of the non-producing metal.
But Powell also warned that the fight against inflation is far from over.
Gold was up in instant transactions about one percent to $1785.60 an ounce by 13:05 GMT.
US gold futures rose 2.2% to $1,797.80 an ounce.
The dollar fell 0.5% on Thursday, making gold cheaper for overseas buyers.
Powell said Wednesday it was time to slow the pace of the next hike in US interest rates.
Investors are now awaiting US nonfarm payroll data due to be released by the Labor Department on Friday, which could influence monetary policy decisions.
As for other precious metals, it rose in spot transactions by 0.2%, to $22.24 an ounce. Platinum fell 0.3% to $1,030.04 an ounce, while it climbed 0.5% to $1,891.20 an ounce.
(Prepared by Marwa Salam and Noha Zakaria for the Arab Bulletin – Edited by Mostafa Saleh)
