© Reuters. Gold continues to rise due to the statements of the US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell
Arabictrader.com – Prices achieved clear gains during trading today, Wednesday, thanks to the statements of US Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell about the upcoming March meeting, in addition to the decline in the US Federal Reserve.
Gold prices now:
Spot gold contracts witnessed a significant increase by 0.55%, recording about $ 1,883.36 an ounce, and it also rose by 0.65%, recording about $ 1,897.10 an ounce.
The most important factors affecting gold price movements:
US Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell’s statements regarding upcoming interest rates and his comment on the positive labor market performance caused gold prices to recover and rise clearly during today’s trading, as Powell expected inflation to decline strongly this year, although achieving the inflation target of 2% may occur in 2024. And Powell continued, saying that the recent employment data was very strong and positive and stronger than expectations, except that he did not show any hints about tightening his monetary policy in the future in response to this positive data, which prompted the dollar to decline, and reflected positively on the movements of gold and strengthened its profits.
At the same time, gold prices enjoyed great support due to the decline in the dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six other major currencies. The US dollar index increased by 0.27%, recording approximately 103.013 points, which boosted the rise of gold.
Also, gold prices witnessed a remarkable increase amid a decline in US Treasury bond yields in light of the decline in the US dollar index, as US bond yields for 10 years declined by 0.63%, recording about 3.651 points. Likewise, 20-year bond yields declined by 3,853 points, recording a decrease of 0.23%, which reflected positively on gold prices.
On the other hand, the pressure on gold prices increased in light of its impact on the expectations of the global rating agency Fitch for the economy of the second largest consumer of gold in the world, China, as the agency expressed optimism about the growth of China’s GDP in 2023, which prompted it to raise its forecast for the growth of the Chinese economy from 4.1. % to 5.0%, which in turn raised investors’ hopes about economic growth in China and weakened the demand for gold as a safe haven that is in increasing demand at times of crises and tensions.
Other metal prices:
Spot metal contracts recorded a significant increase by 1.29% and recorded about $22.46 an ounce, and metal contracts rose by about 1.32% and recorded about $991.13 an ounce, and metal contracts rose by 1.86% and recorded about $1,677.21 an ounce.
