Gold Prices Steady as Sluggish Inflation Persists
Investing.com – Gold prices steadied as the dollar came under pressure following the release of timid inflation data which dampened investor expectations for a faster pace of rate hikes next year.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $8.10, or 0.65%, to $1,249.70 a troy ounce.
Gold prices attempted to halt a two-day slide, as data pointing to weakness in underlying inflation reduced investor expectations for a more aggressive pace of rate hikes ahead the Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price index rose 0.4% last month. In the twelve months through November, core-inflation, however, undershot expectations rising just 1.7%. The somewhat subdued consumer inflation report comes just hours ahead of the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision slated for 2.00 p.m. ET.
Following the subdued inflation reports, investors are expected to closely monitor the Federal Reserve’s insights on the slowdown in inflation after some officials appeared less certain as to whether sluggish inflation was transitory.
“We expect the 2018 inflation projections to remain at 1.9%, but this is a close call and a downward revision is a dovish risk in light of recent Fed commentary about the uncertainty of the inflation outlook,” Goldman Sachs said.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 1.58% to $15.93 a troy ounce, while platinum futures gained 0.25% to $877.85.
Copper traded at $3.05, up 0.96%, while natural gas rose by 1.79% to $2.726 as the latter continued to recover from sell off last week.
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