Krasnoyarsk, April 27 (BNA): Gold prices rose as a weaker dollar revived some of the bullion’s appeal to overseas buyers, while investors braced for a batch of US economic data ahead of next week’s key federal policy meeting.
Spot gold rose 0.48% to $1,999.01 an ounce by 448 GMT, while US gold futures rose 0.6% to $2,008.10, according to Reuters.
The dollar index fell 0.1 percent on the day, scheduled for a second session of decline.
Gold is treading waters now, said Edward Meir, a metals analyst at Marex, as investors monitor US debt ceiling talks, and the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting, which may offer some ideas on what to expect for the rest of the year.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday narrowly approved a bill to raise the government’s debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion.
Meanwhile, First Republic Bank’s market value fell again on Wednesday as investors waited to see if it would be able to find buyers for the asset and engineer a block on government support.
Meir said that given the “unstable tone with the banking situation” and “uncertainty about the debt ceiling, it is likely that gold will be more sensitive to the upside than the downside.”
Safe-haven gold rose to a one-year high of $2,048.71 in mid-April, as a banking crisis unfolded and weak economic readings in the United States boosted bets for a pause in rate hikes.
Much hinges on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision in May, and gold could see more volatility due to the dollar, said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, a Singapore-based gold trader.
Traders will now clear the US quarterly GDP and weekly jobless claims numbers due at 1230 GMT.
Data on Wednesday showed US business spending on equipment weakened in March as demand for goods slowed.
Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.7% to $25.05 an ounce, platinum increased 0.3% to $1,093.36, and palladium gained 0.5%, to $1,519.47.
NAA