GOLD prices inched higher on Monday (Dec 9) as investors awaited US inflation data, set for release this week, for insights into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at US$2,631.60 per ounce, as at 0009 GMT, after hitting a session high at US$2,647.99.
US gold futures were steady at US$2,658.10.
Traders are now looking forward to US inflation data due on Wednesday.
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, markets currently see an 85.1 per cent chance of a 25-basis-points rate cut this month. Lower rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Federal Reserve officials appeared on track to cut interest rates this month after data showed the US labour market remained strong but continued to cool in November.
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US employers added 227,000 jobs last month, a rebound from a hurricane-impacted slowdown in October, but the unemployment rate inched up to 4.2 per cent, the Labor Department’s monthly employment report showed on Friday.
On the geopolitical front, Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus unopposed on Sunday after a lightning advance that sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule.
Gold is often seen as a safe-haven asset during times of economic or political uncertainty.
Spot silver was flat at US$30.99 per ounce, platinum held steady at US$930.20 and palladium rose 0.6 per cent to US$962.10. REUTERS
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