By Seher Dareen
(Reuters) – Gold prices jumped 2% on Thursday to climb above the key $1,800 per ounce pivot, as the dollar weakened on prospects of slower rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and signs of cooling U.S. inflation.
Spot gold rose 1.6% to $1,797.35 per ounce by 10:25 a.m. ET (1525 GMT), reaching $1,803.94 earlier in the session, while U.S. gold futures gained 3.1% to $1,813.80.
“We’ve established a price uptrend on the daily chart which invited technical-based buying… we’re seeing the dovish lean by (Fed Chair Jerome Powell) supporting the commodity markets and seen the U.S. dollar index back off,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals.
Powell on Wednesday said it was time to slow the pace of coming interest rate hikes, but added that controlling inflation “will require holding policy at a restrictive level for some time”.
The dollar fell more than 1% to a near four-month low against its rivals, making gold less expensive for overseas buyers. [USD/]
Traders are currently pricing in a 91% probability that the Fed increases rates by 50 basis points on Dec. 14.
Further supporting bets around slower rate hikes, data showed moderation in the inflation trend last month, boosting interest in gold, analysts said.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
On the technical front, gold is trading above its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which is considered a bullish signal by traders.
Focus now turns to the U.S. Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls (NFP) data due on Friday.
If the NFP numbers confirm the weakness seen in yesterday’s data, then the “gold market would most certainly have the excuse that it has waited to move higher,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Elsewhere, spot silver jumped 1.4% to $22.51 per ounce, platinum rose 1.2% to $1,045.13, while palladium fell 0.1% to $1,879.53.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen and Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
