Gold extends gains on Fed rate cut, but heads for weekly fall

GOLD prices inched higher on Friday (Nov 8), extending gains spurred by the US Federal Reserve’s widely anticipated quarter-point rate cut amid a cooling labour market and solid economic growth.

Spot gold rose 0.1 per cent to US$2,708.89 per ounce, as at 0024 GMT, but was down nearly 1 per cent for the week so far.

US gold futures gained 0.4 per cent to US$2,716.4.

At the end of its two-day policy meeting on Thursday, the US central bank lowered the benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.5 to 4.75 per cent range, with policymakers taking note of a job market that has “generally eased”.

Gold prices climbed more than 1 per cent in the previous session, recovering losses suffered after Donald Trump won the US presidential race.

Bullion is considered a hedge against economic uncertainties and tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will evaluate data to adjust the “pace and destination” of rates, as inflation nears the 2 per cent target and tight monetary policy is reassessed.

Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, indicating minimal change in the labour market and supporting views that hurricanes and strikes slowed job growth in October.

Traders now see a 74 per cent chance of another 25-bp rate cut in December, in what could be the third reduction this year.

Global physically-backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw inflows for the sixth straight month in October, with year-to-date flows turning positive for the first time this year, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.

Elsewhere, China’s central bank refrained from purchasing gold for its reserves for the sixth consecutive month in October, according to official data.

Spot silver fell 0.1 per cent to US$31.98 per ounce, platinum gained 0.3 per cent to US$1,000.35 and palladium was flat at US$1,024.40. REUTERS