Gold set for longest winning stream in 6 weeks

Singapore - Gold climbed for a fourth straight day as the dollar retreated after minutes from July’s Federal Reserve meeting signalled that US interest rates are poised to stay lower for longer.

Bullion for immediate delivery advanced as much as 0.6% to $1 356.18 an ounce and traded at $1 352.61 at 3:04 p.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.

The metal is 27% higher this year after rising every day this week, the longest stretch of gains since July 6. A gauge of the greenback fell 0.4%.

Gold has increased this year partly on the back of weak or negative interest rates globally, proving beneficial to bullion which doesn’t offer interest or yields.

The Fed minutes released on Wednesday showed that most officials saw little risk of an uptick in inflation, regardless of what they do with rates.

Prices will remain range-bound until next week, when Fed chair Janet Yellen speaks at an annual symposium hosted by the Kansas City Fed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said Golf Hiruyansiri, managing director of Bangkok-based MTS Gold Group.

"Gold is still consolidating in a sideways range of about $1 330 to $1 360," Hiruyansiri said by phone.

"The market has become range-bound, because it’s just waiting for actual news to really give more direction toward whether the rate will increase next month or at the end of the year."

Odds of an increase in borrowing costs in December fell to 49% from 51% a day earlier, according to futures prices compiled by Bloomberg.

Some policy makers have suggested that it will probably still be appropriate to raise rates at least once this year, with New York Fed President William Dudley indicating a move could come as soon as the Fed’s September 20 to 21 gathering.

Holdings in bullion-backed exchange traded funds fell 4 metric tons to 2 028.9 tons on Wednesday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

In China, bullion of 99.99% purity added 0.6% to 288.52 yuan a gram ($1 353.97 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

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