© Reuters. Gold bars at a facility in West Point, New York, USA. Photo from Reuters archive.
(Reuters) – It rebounded on Monday after it pared initial gains spurred by bets that the sudden production cuts announced by the OPEC+ group could raise global energy prices and force central banks to raise interest rates.
Prices rose 0.5 percent to $1,977.43 an ounce by 1206 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,994.50.
Earlier in the session, gold touched a one-week low of $1,949.54.
The dollar pared initial gains, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, at a time when investors focus on divergent central bank policies and the impact of oil production cuts complicates inflation expectations.
Gold is a traditional hedge against inflation, but higher interest rates aimed at curbing pressure from increasing prices reduce the attractiveness of the non-interest-bearing yellow metal.
Gold prices rose nearly 8 percent in the previous quarter after recent global banking turmoil increased bets that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
Among other precious metals, it fell 0.3 percent to $24.01 an ounce, platinum fell 0.3 percent to $988.60, and rose 0.7 percent to $1,470.72.
(Prepared by Amira Zahran and Mohamed Harfoush for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Suha Jadu)
