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Melbourne - Gold is on course for its biggest weekly rise in a month as fading expectations for higher US rates hurt the dollar and lifted bullion holdings to the most since July.
Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at $1 154.59 an ounce at 3:06 p.m. in Singapore, after it rose on Thursday to its highest level since October 29. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the US currency, fell 0.5% on Thursday for a second daily decline. Gold has gained 3.3% this week, putting it on course for the largest weekly gain since January 8.
The metal’s jump is attributable “to a large extent, or probably in the full extent, to the shift in the US dollar over the past few days,” said Tony Farnham, a strategist at Patersons Securities in Sydney.
“When these sorts of currency movements occur, people tend to go back into the metals.” A weaker dollar makes metals cheaper for buyers outside the US.
The dollar’s retreat has been sparked by tepid US data, raising concern over the strength of the economy and damping expectations of further rate increases this year.
* Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products rose 0.3% to 1 547.8 metric tons as of Thursday, the most since July, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
* Spot platinum fell 0.6%, palladium rose 0.2% and silver dipped 0.2%.
