Gold on track for first weekly dip in three as rate-cut bets dwindle

GOLD rose on Friday (May 24) but was set for its first weekly drop in three weeks, as investors lowered expectations of a US interest rate cut after the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting indicated that there would be a delay in monetary policy easing.

Spot gold rose 0.2 per cent at US$2,332.14 per ounce, as at 0119 GMT. Bullion prices are down 3.4 per cent so far this week, after hitting a record high of 2,449.89 on Monday.

US gold futures were down 0.2 per cent at US$2,333.70.

Fed officials indicated that it would take longer than previously anticipated to gain greater confidence in inflation moving to 2 per cent, according to the minutes of the US central bank’s Apr 30 to May 1 session.

Businesses across the globe broadly enjoyed an improved performance this month with activity picking up in the United States and across parts of Asia and Europe, giving central banks room to potentially defer cutting interest rates.

Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.

The value of Peru’s illegal gold exports is higher than the total legal gold sold by several other South American countries combined, an independent study showed.

A classic economic data case of ‘good news is bad news’ from the US on Thursday looks set to weigh on Asian markets, as the eagerly awaited first rate cut gets pushed back further.

Johnson Matthey missed market expectations for full-year revenue and pretax profit, hurt by lower prices for platinum group metals.

Russian metals giant Nornickel plans a joint project for construction of a platinum group metals refinery in Bahrain, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Spot silver rose 0.5 per cent to US$30.25 per ounce, platinum was up 0.3 per cent at US$1,021.75 and palladium gained 0.1 per cent at US$970.75. REUTERS