GOLD prices touched a record high on Monday (Apr 1) after data showed that United States inflation moderated in February, boosting bets for the Federal Reserve’s June interest rate cut.
Spot gold rose 1 per cent at US$2,255.39 per ounce, as at 0103 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of US$2,256.09 per ounce earlier in the session.
US gold futures gained 1.7 per cent to US$2,275.70 per ounce.
The US dollar was down 0.1 per cent against its rivals, making gold more appealing for other currency holders.
The latest US inflation data is “along the lines of what we would like to see”, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said on Friday.
US prices moderated in February with the personal consumption expenditures price index rising 0.3 per cent for February, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Friday.
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Traders are pricing in a 69 per cent probability that the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Lower interest rates boost the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
China’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March, offering relief to policymakers even as a crisis in the property sector remains a drag on the economy and confidence.
Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday.
Russia’s Nornickel, the world’s largest palladium producer, said on Friday that some clients in the European Union had refused to buy products made with Russian metals.
Spot silver rose 1 per cent to US$25.22 per ounce, platinum was up 0.6 per cent to US$913.85 and palladium gained 0.3 per cent to US$1018.22. REUTERS
