Gold set to end four-month slump

Gold is on track today, Friday, to post its first monthly gain in five months, as investors assess the impact of the conflict between the United States and Iran and analyze signals from the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) for clues on inflation and the interest rate trajectory.

Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $4,096.29 per ounce by 01:07 GMT, but is set for a weekly rise of 1.1 percent. US August gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $4,094.10.

The precious metal is poised to gain more than 2.2 percent this month.

Gold rose 2 percent in spot trading on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its latest monetary policy meeting, with Fed Chair Kevin Warsh providing no significant indications regarding the central bank’s next move on monetary policy.

According to the CME’s FedWatch tool, markets currently price in a 63 percent probability of a rate hike in September, down from nearly 80 percent before the monetary policy meeting.

In other precious metals, spot silver held steady at $58.98 per ounce, platinum fell 1.3 percent to $1,638.97, and palladium declined 0.2 percent to $1,301.94.