Gold prices surged on Tuesday, August 8, as the dollar eased slightly, with investors waiting for U.S. inflation numbers later this week for hints on the pace of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.
“Gold appears to be in a holding pattern with the increasing risk that stale long positioning may see traders head for the door until some directional clarity is restored,” said Jeffrey
Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,259.41 per ounce, as of 0705 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,265.40 per ounce, Reuters reports.
“There aren’t many players in the market, nor is there much incentive (for prices) to move right now, so I think it’s going to be very quiet for the rest of the month,” said Yuichi Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager at ICBC Standard Bank.
“I expect prices to creep higher (in the short term) as the dollar is still weak and that is the prevailing trend.”
Asian shares went flat on Tuesday as disappointing Chinese trade data clouded the otherwise upbeat outlook on global growth, leaving currencies and commodities becalmed in summer doldrums.
The U.S. dollar inched down, not far from multi-month lows touched last week, as investors awaited data due later this week that will offer clues about the extent to which the
strengthening labour market is spilling over into inflation.
Spot gold may retest support at $1,255 per ounce, a break below which could cause a further loss to the next support level at $1,247, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
In other precious metals, silver rose 0.1 percent to $16.26 per ounce. In the previous session, it retouched its July 20 low of $16.10 an ounce, the weakest since July 18.
Platinum gained 0.5 percent to $968.20 per ounce. It hovered close to an over three-month high of $970.10 hit on Friday.
Palladium inched 0.2 percent higher to $887.75 per ounce, after touching its highest in over a week in the previous session.
