GOLD prices held below record levels on Thursday (Oct 17) as investors looked forward to a slew of US economic data that could offer more clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary easing path.
Spot gold was little changed at US$2,674.96 per ounce, as at 0025 GMT. Prices rose to a session high of US$2,685.16 on Wednesday, shy of the record US$2,685.42 scaled on Sep 26.
US gold futures were flat at US$2,690.40.
Market participants were awaiting US retail sales and industrial production data for September and weekly jobless claims data, due later in the day.
Data showed that US import prices fell by the most in nine months in September, pointing to a benign inflation outlook that keeps the Fed on course to continue cutting interest rates.
Traders see a 92.2 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point (bp) rate cut by the US central bank next month, the CME FedWatch tool showed.
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The European Central Bank is likely to lower interest rates again, arguing inflation in the eurozone is now increasingly under control and the economy is stagnating.
Lower interest rates and geopolitical tensions tend to boost bullion’s appeal.
Any solution to the rapidly expanding regional conflict that has spread to Lebanon and beyond hinges on a resolution of the original crisis in Gaza, a senior Hamas official said on Wednesday.
Spot silver rose 0.2 per cent to US$31.74 per ounce. Platinum gained 0.8 per cent to US$1,001.40 and palladium firmed 0.3 per cent to US$1,026.09. REUTERS
