Gold rebounds from 6-week low as US dollar sags before Fed speeches

[LONDON] Gold rose on Tuesday after hitting a six-week low in the previous session as bargain hunting set in and the US dollar fell before speeches by US Federal Reserve officials.

Fed officials have signalled that they plan to continue on their current trajectory of interest rate hikes despite a slow down in inflation. However, investors are sceptical and market pricing shows only a 40 per cent chance of a rise in December.

A huge sell order totalling 1.85 million ounces pushed gold to a six-week low on Monday, although the precious metal ultimately failed to break below the 200-day moving average.

"If yesterday gold wasn't able to push below the 200-day moving average that's a positive sign," said ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele.

"The market is sceptical about Fed rate rises this year and next. Overall we're optimistic about the outlook for gold, we (see) a weaker US dollar later in the year," she added.

Spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to US$1,250.31 per ounce by 0951 GMT. It hit a near six-week low of US$1,236.46 on Monday.

US gold futures for August rose 0.4 per cent to US$1,251.30 per ounce.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen addresses the British Academy in London at 1700 GMT, less than two hours after an address by Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker in the same city at 1515 GMT Ahead of that, the US dollar slipped 0.5 per cent against major currencies, making US dollar-priced gold cheaper for non-US investors.

In Asia, today traders were still trying to ascertain the reason for Monday's sharp sell-off, MKS said in a note. "It will be interesting to see whether gold can continue higher today,"the trade house added.

Gold prices have gained every month this year save June, thanks partly to rising geopolitical tensions which most recently included a bailout of Italian banks, the policies of US President Donald Trump and Britain's negotiations to quit the European Union.

"We are still keeping an eye out on geopolitical tensions. Increased uncertainty in the near term should actually push gold up," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan.

Spot gold may drop back toward US$1,172 in three months, as suggested by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.5 per cent to US$16.63 an ounce, while palladium climbed 0.3 per cent to US$867.12 per ounce.

Platinum rose 0.8 per cent to US$920.10, recovering from Monday's six-week trough.

REUTERS