Gold ekes out gains

LONDON: Gold inched up yesterday as the dollar fell and a gunfight in Paris hurt risk appetite, but the market awaited minutes of a recent Federal Reserve meeting which could reinforce bets of a rate hike next month, keeping the metal close to an earlier near six-year low. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,070.80 an ounce by 1053 GMT, after falling to $1,064.95 earlier, the lowest since February 2010. US gold futures for December delivery were up $1.60 an ounce at $1,070.30.

Silver tracked gold, returning to positive territory after dropping to a 2-1/2month low, up 0.5 percent to $14.25 an ounce, while platinum stood close to a seven-year low, unchanged at $850.40 an ounce. Bullion prices have fallen for 14 out of 16 sessions, under pressure from prospects of the first US interest rate hike in nearly a decade in December. Higher rates would increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal. Data on Tuesday showing US consumer prices increased in October fuelled further those expectations, while market odds for a December hike moved from around 30 percent to 66 percent.

“Overall, financial markets are more or less positioned that the Fed will hike this year, and the general trend for precious metals is on the downside,” ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said. Bullion managed to regain some lost ground as the dollar eased 0.1 percent against a basket of currencies, retreating from an earlier seven-month high. European shares fell, retreating from solid gains made in the previous session. “We saw a pop in the last few days, but the knee-jerk reaction didn’t really last. The overriding factor has been the rising dollar and the expectation of Fed hiking rates in December,” said ANZ analyst Victor Thianpiriya. —Reuters