Gold back above $1 800-mark on firmer investment demand

Gold prices firmed above the key $1 800-level on Tuesday as investment demand strengthened, with a weak US dollar and Treasury yields offering further support.

Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1 806.32 per ounce by 10:38 GMT. US gold futures climbed 0.6% to $1 807.40.

A weaker dollar is helping gold along with “good uptake yesterday on the ETF side that took us through the magic $1 800 level,” independent analyst Ross Norman said.

Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose to the highest levels since mid-August on Monday.

“Gold is an engine that is not firing on all cylinders at the moment,” Norman said, adding that retail demand is performing powerfully while “central banks are misfiring, and institutional demand comes in fits and starts.”

Helping bullion recover from 1-1/2 month lows hit last week, the dollar index eased off multi-month peaks against its rivals, supporting demand for the greenback-priced bullion among buyers holding other currencies.

Yields on the benchmark US 10-year treasury note eased to a one-week low, buttressing non-interest paying gold.

However, the US non-farm payroll data due later this week is important as any signs of weak hiring and strong wage growth may significantly embolden market expectations of a hawkish US Federal Reserve and, in turn, pressure gold to go lower, DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak said.

Fed policymakers say they’ll raise interest rates in March but spoke cautiously on Monday about what might follow, signalling a desire to keep options open in the face of an uncertain outlook for inflation and a pandemic still ongoing.

Spot silver was up 1.5% at $22.76 an ounce, and platinum gained 1.9% to $1 037.00.

Palladium rose 1.3% to $2 381.31, but was trading below its highest levels since early September reached on Monday.