Gold inches higher as investors buy the dip ahead of US data

[BENGALURU]] Gold prices edged higher on Thursday (May 15) as investors took advantage of lower levels after the metal hit a one-month low in the previous session, while market participants now await US Producer Price Index data for clearer economic direction.

Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at US$3,183.20 an ounce as at 0033 GMT. US gold futures dipped 0.1 per cent to US$3,185.60.

In the previous session, spot gold fell to its lowest level since Apr 10 after Washington and Beijing agreed to reduce tariffs drastically and adopted a 90-day pause, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

The US and China imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on each other last month, sparking a trade war that heightened fears of a global recession.

Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against economic and political uncertainties, thrives in a low-interest-rate environment.

Federal Reserve policymakers are leaving interest rates where they are while they try to assess how US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade negotiations will affect prices and the economy. So far, the hard data is giving them little to go on.

The spotlight is now on the US PPI data, due later in the day, as markets look for further clues on the Fed’s policy path following softer-than-expected consumer data.

Markets are expecting 50 basis points of interest rate cuts this year, starting from October.

Spot silver eased 0.2 per cent to US$32.16 an ounce, platinum rose 0.8 per cent to US$984.05 and palladium gained 0.3 per cent to US$953.75. REUTERS