Gold price hits one-week low, US data weighs

bengaluru — Gold inched down to a one-week low on Thursday, pressured by upbeat US growth data and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s bullish view of the economy, but the yellow metal was on track for its first monthly gain since August.

A lack of clear drivers has kept gold between $1,265 and $1,300 an ounce throughout November, its narrowest monthly range in 12 years.

Despite the volatility overnight, it was another subdued session across the precious complex today in Asia, with gold struggling above $1,285 an ounce consistently, MKS analyst Alex Thorndike said in a note.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,281.92 an ounce at 0813 GMT, having touched its lowest since Nov. 22 at $1,281.31 earlier in the session. However, the metal has risen 0.9 per cent for the month so far.

US gold futures were down 0.1 per cent at $1,281.20.

“We see gold prices remaining subdued over the next two months but after that it will start to rise,” said Richard Xu, a fund manager at China’s biggest gold exchange-traded fund, HuaAn Gold. “It would be flat for a few days because the economy is great and the financial markets are in sync with inflation.”

The US economy has gathered steam this year and will warrant continued interest rate increases amid a strengthened global recovery, Yellen told Congressional leaders on Wednesday in her final scheduled testimony on Capitol Hill.

Higher US interest rates would keep pressure on gold prices as investors seek returns in assets other than non-interest bearing bullion. Data showed the US economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, notching its quickest pace in three years. — Reuters