Gold near 10-week high as US inflation data awaited

Gold rose by nearly 1% on Wednesday, supported by declining bets that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) would raise interest rates next month, as investors awaited key US inflation data that could reshape monetary policy expectations. Spot gold increased 0.9% to $4,406.34 per ounce by 0330 GMT. US December gold futures rose 0.6% to $4,466.70. Gold had climbed to a 10-week high on Tuesday before encountering technical resistance around the 100-day moving average near $4,387, before closing lower for the second time this month. Kelvin Wong, chief market analyst at OANDA, said, “The main driver for gold is the declining expectation of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike.” Gold recorded its largest weekly gain since January on Friday, after weaker-than-expected jobs data led traders to reduce their bets on a US interest rate increase. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, traders now see a 50% probability of a rate hike in September, down from 60% before the jobs report.