Gold has risen, buoyed by a weaker US dollar after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed policymakers were divided over whether to raise interest rates soon.
Advertisement
“Most also saw relatively low risk that a further gradual strengthening of the labor market would generate an unwanted increase in inflationary pressures”, the minutes said.
Gold fell, ending its longest winning run in six weeks as the dollar rebounded and a Federal Reserve policy maker said the United States is strong enough to warrant an increase in interest rates sooner than markets expect.
In late NY trading on Thursday, the euro rose to $1.1354 from $1.1291 of the previous session, and the British pound climbed to $1.3152 from $1.3056, Xinhua news agency reported. In Australia, ASX All Ordinaries Index declined 0.34%, while South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.27%.
South Korea’s won rose after its biggest one-day loss in nearly two months as Federal Reserve minutes tempered speculation USA interest rates will increase this year.
Platinum rose 1.1 percent to $1,124.70, after hitting a new three-week low of $1,099.74 in the previous session, while palladium was up 0.9 percent at $698.10.
“Despite some members saying that an immediate hike is appropriate and some saying one would soon be warranted, the more cautious members of the Fed said that they would have “ample time” to react to a rise in inflation”.
This week, William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY and a close ally of Fed chair Janet Yellen, said in a television interview that a September rate hike is “possible”. The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.1299 with the common currency on track to rise more than 1 percent this week. U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers last month believed risks to the USA economy had lessened but wanted to keep their interest rate policy “options open”, according to minutes released August 17, 2016.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last down 0.58 percent at 94.170.DXY after touching a almost eight-week low of 94.141.
European shares fell 0.8 per cent on the day and almost 2 per cent for the week, their biggest weekly loss since mid-June.
US stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade.
Global bond yields fell with Europe’s benchmark, 10-year German yields, down 3 basis points at minus 0.08 per cent and USA equivalents extending the previous day’s drop to hit 1.55 per cent.
International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $49.67 per barrel at 0050 GMT, down 18 cents from their last close.
Advertisement
The fall in the dollar dominated currency market moves.
