© Reuters. Gold bars at a facility in West Point, New York, USA. Photo from Reuters archive.
(Reuters) – It fell on Thursday as the dollar rose, as investors awaited US economic data that could provide clues about whether the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
It fell 0.5 percent to $1,936.97 an ounce by 0935 GMT, after earlier hitting its highest level since April 2022 at $1,949.09. US gold futures fell 0.3 percent to $1,937.20.
It rose slightly, but remained near an eight-month low.
Investors are awaiting the announcement of US GDP estimates for the fourth quarter, scheduled at 1330 GMT, as well as the publication of data on personal consumption expenditures in the United States tomorrow, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting scheduled for January 31 and February 1. Traders will also look at the US weekly jobless claims data due for release later in the day.
Investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to slow rate hikes to 25 basis points from 50 basis points last December.
Reducing interest rate hikes tends to support gold prices, as it reduces the opportunity cost of owning the non-yielding precious metal.
As for other precious metals, it fell in spot transactions by 1.2 percent to $23.6137 an ounce, and platinum fell 0.9 percent to $1,030.25, and it fell 1.2 percent to $1,677.40.
(Prepared by Amira Zahran for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Duaa Muhammad)
