Gold edged higher on Thursday after losing 12 percent since last week as weaker-than-expected U.S. economic growth data eased speculation the Federal Reserve will start slowing monetary stimulus any time soon, boosting the metal’s safe-haven appeal.
As of (09:34 GMT+3), gold for immediate delivery rose 0.65% or 7.99 points on Thursday to trade at $ 1,240.44 an ounce after opening at $1,225.46, having earlier hit a high of $1,244.59, and a low of $1,224.35.
Gold prices rose on Thursday after hitting its lowest in nearly three years last week, as weak U.S. growth data fueled expectations that the economy is not strong enough for the Federal Reserve to trim its stimulus program.
The news fuelled uncertainty over the direction of U.S. monetary policy, after last week’s announcement by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the bank could begin tapering its bond buying program by the end 2013 if the economy continued to pick up as the central bank expected.
Moving to other metals:
- Silver fell 0.10% to trade around $ 18.75
- Platinum gained 1.15% to $ 1,324.45
- Palladium edged 1.13% higher to $ 640.60
Data released from the U.S. Commerce Department showed Gross Domestic Product U.S. economy grew much slower than previously believed in the first quarter, casting a shadow over the Federal Reserve`s fairly upbeat assessment of the economy last week.
The U.S. GDP figure, the broadest measure of all goods and services produced in the economy, grew at an annual 1.8 percent annual rate between January and March, revised lower from a prior estimate of 2.4 percent.
Wednesday`s weaker GDP report comes after upbeat reports the previous day on durable goods orders, sales of new homes, home prices and consumer confidence. U.S. consumer confidence jumped in June to its highest level in more than five years, while sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose to their highest level in nearly five years in May.
The USDIX dollar index is currently trading around 83.09 after opening at 83.16, having so far hit a high of 83.17and a low of 83.03.
January 11, 2016