Gold holds advance as chances of a US rate hike recedes

[SINGAPORE] Gold held a three-day advance as investors assessed prospects for a US interest-rate increase and holdings in bullion-backed funds rebounded.

Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at US$1,326.90 an ounce at 8:10am in Singapore, after climbing 1.4 per cent in the previous three days, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.

The precious metal is up 25 per cent this year as uncertainty surrounding US growth pushed the Federal Reserve to delay raising borrowing costs this year, and the UK's Brexit vote boosted demand for a haven.

Traders are betting that the American job market isn't strong enough to warrant a rate-increase this month as Friday's payrolls data showed hiring moderated more than economists forecast in August.

Investors bought 0.6 metric ton of the metal through exchange-traded funds as of Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Odds on US officials hiking at this month's review have dwindled to 32 per cent, four percentage points below where they were a week ago.

BLOOMBERG