Gold prices rose Thursday, July 20, to a nine-week high, thanks to a weaker dollar and bets that the US Federal Reserve may soon halt its cycle of interest rate hikes.
And by 03:25 GMT, spot gold rose 0.5% to $ 1987.18 an ounce, the highest level since mid-May. US gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,988.80.
“It is likely that we will reach the end of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike at the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (on July 26),” said Baden Moore, head of carbon and commodity strategy at the National Bank of Australia.
Low interest rates help gold because they reduce the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding yellow metal.
The dollar index fell 0.2%, near its lowest level in more than a year, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.
The US central bank is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its meeting next week, to keep them in the range of 5.25-5.5 percent in 2023, according to CME’s Fed Watch tool.
As for other precious metals, silver increased in spot transactions by 0.3% to $25.23 an ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $973.81, while palladium fell 0.2% to $1,305.54.
