Gold muted as weaker dollar counters rate hike bets

[BENGALURU] Gold prices were flat on Tuesday (Feb 2), as a weaker dollar countered concerns about potential interest rate hikes, while investors waited for a slew of economic data to gauge the strength of global economies.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold was little changed at US$1,797.94 per ounce by 0140 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.2 per cent at US$1,799.10.

The dollar index moved away from multi-month peaks, as investors consolidated gains after the currency hit a 1-1/2-year high on Friday on expectations of a faster pace of rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, a non-voter on the Federal Open Market Committee, told the Financial Times in an interview over the weekend that the Fed could super-size a rate increase to half a percentage point if inflation remained stubbornly high.

Fed funds futures late Monday had priced in just under five hikes for 2022, or about 121 basis points of tightening. They also showed a 17 per cent chance of a 50 basis-point increase in March IRPR, down from as high as 32 per cent on Friday.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said on Friday they anticipated five rate hikes for this year, while analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said they expected seven.

Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation, interest rate hikes would raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Spot silver was flat at US$22.44 an ounce, platinum was up 0.1 per cent at US$1,019.23 and palladium fell 1.5 per cent to US$2,315.23. REUTERS