Gold edges higher as dollar slips from 20-year high

GOLD prices inched up in early Asian hours on Tuesday (Aug 30), as the dollar eased off a 20-year high, offsetting pressure from expectations of the US Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer to combat inflation.

Spot gold ticked 0.1 per cent higher to US$1,739.14 per ounce, as of 12.58 am GMT. Prices hit a 1-month low of US$1,719.56 on Monday, following Fed chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks at Jackson Hole symposium on Friday.

US gold futures rose 0.1 per cent to US$1,751.7.

The dollar index was off a 2-decade high hit on Monday, while the benchmark 10-year yields pulled back from a 2-month high hit in the previous session.

The message from the world’s top finance chiefs is loud and clear: rampant inflation is here to stay and taming it will take an extraordinary effort, most likely a recession with job losses and shockwaves through emerging markets.

While gold is considered a safe bet during economic uncertainty, interest rate hikes increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari said on Monday he felt the stock market selloff that followed Powell’s hawkish speech on Friday shows investors understand the central bank is serious about reducing inflation.

Markets are now largely pricing in a 75-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.38 per cent to 980.61 tonnes on Monday from 984.38 tonnes on Friday.

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Spot silver dipped 0.1 per cent to US$18.73 per ounce, platinum fell 0.2 per cent to US$862.72 and palladium rose 0.4 per cent to US$2,155.68. REUTERS