Gold price back above $1,800 as inflation fears linger
Gold prices jumped to their highest in nearly three months on Thursday, with a weaker dollar and easing Treasury yields propelling it over the pivotal $1,800/oz level once again.
Spot gold advanced 1.5% to $1,812.04/oz by noon ET, having reached an intraday high of $1,817.39/oz earlier in the session. US gold futures gained 1.7% to $1,815.10/oz on the Comex in New York.
US 10-year Treasury yields continued to slip on Thursday, bolstering the appeal of non-yielding bullion. The dollar index also fell 0.4%, making bullion more attractive for those holding other currencies.
“We really have yet to see a strong rebound in Treasury yields,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, told Reuters.
“Despite the economic optimism, Federal Reserve policymakers seem unlikely to budge on their accommodative stance yet and investor inflation fears should boost gold,” Moya added.
The Fed plans to keep borrowing costs near 0% and maintain monthly asset purchases worth $120 billion until it sees “substantial further progress” towards full employment and its 2% flexible inflation target.
“Above $1,800 it gives the bulls fresh technical power, gives them momentum and I think the path of least resistance for prices is now going to be sideways to higher for the near term,” Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff said.
Gold’s uptick also came despite data showing weekly jobless claims dropped to a 13-month low, which signaled that the US economy is on the recovery path.
