· US gold futures for December delivery gained 0.7 per cent to settle at $US1,292.40 an ounce.
· Gold prices have risen for a second day after Federal Reserve officials hinted that US interest rates could rise more slowly than expected, while palladium has been lifted to a fresh 16-year high by strong industrial metals markets.
· A cautious Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan on Thursday said he would need to see evidence that prices will rise to a 2-per cent target in the medium term to support another interest-rate hike. Meanwhile, Kaplan's Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari said he continues to see no urgency to raise interest rates.
The minutes of the Fed's July 25-26 policy meeting showed some policymakers wished to halt further rate increases until it is clear the trend of soft inflation is transitory.
· "Yesterday's FOMC minutes once again indicate that ether will be no rate increase until next year and the ECB today essentially came out and said the euro is too strong." said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Metal Management in New York. "Both these key factors are what is supporting gold and helping it towards the $US1,300 target."
· Analysts said US President Donald Trump's decision Wednesday to disband two high-profile business advisory councils also helped gold because it shook confidence in Trump's ability to enact economic stimulus, lowering expectations of rate rises.
· Demand for gold as a safe haven also resurfaced after South Korea warned North Korea against "crossing a red line" and the United States said it would go ahead with joint military drills despite pressure from China.
· "While the current strength can persist for some time (absent the true materialization of a risk off event), gold will continue to trade within the $US1215-$US1290/oz band that it has been in since the start of the quarter, in our view," RBC Capital Markets said in a note.
· Technical resistance was at the June high of $US1,296.30 with Fibonacci support at $US1,261.30, said analysts at ScotiaMocatta.
· Palladium surged 1.1 per cent to $US923.8 an ounce after touching $US930, the highest since February 2001.
· The metal, used in the auto industry for emissions-controlling catalytic converters, was being carried higher by a strong rally in industrial metals such as copper and aluminium this week, said Dominic Schnider at UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.
· Silver fell 0.5 per cent to $US17 an ounce and platinum was down 0.6 per cent at $US970.55 an ounce.
Reference: Business News
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