· Gold prices climbed to a one-year high on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar eased and safe-haven buying demand remained robust due to continued concerns over North Korea's nuclear tests.
· Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,341.86 an ounce by 3:19 p.m. EDT (1919 GMT), after peaking at $1,344.21, its highest since Sept. 8, 2016.
· Gold rallied Tuesday, as nervousness over North Korea’s weekend nuclear display, weakness in the dollar and broad losses in U.S. equities combined to push futures to the highest close in nearly a year.
· Gold for December delivery GCZ7, +0.04% rose $14.10, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,344.50 an ounce, the highest close since Sept. 22, according to FactSet data.
· As the interest-rate watch continues for the currency and metal markets, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said Tuesday that the Fed may have to slow down the pace of interest-rate hikes given the recent low readings for inflation. Recent soft inflation may be due to depressed underlying inflation, she said.
· Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari separately said Tuesday that it’s very possible that the central bank’s four interest-rate hikes since late 2015 could now be doing “real harm” to the economy.
· South Korea said an agreement with the United States to scrap a weight limit on its warheads would help it to respond to the threat from North Korea after Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test two days ago.
· North Korea has been observed moving what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards its west coast, South Korea's Asia Business Daily reported.
· "Gold is still in demand as a safe haven," Commerzbank said in a note.
"It is thought that the missile may be fired before the country celebrates its Foundation of the State Day on 9 September. This further raises geopolitical tensions in the region."
· However, Goldman Sachs said events in Washington over the past two months play a far larger role in the recent gold rally followed by a weaker dollar.
Goldman said it maintains its end-of-year gold price forecast of $1,250 per ounce barring a substantial escalation in North Korea.
"In coming months, the unfortunate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey suggests that Washington is going to have to overcome their differences, pass spending bills, try harder to avoid a government shutdown and pursue infrastructure projects sooner than later." the analysts said.
"Our economists believe the probability of a government shutdown has declined further from their prior assessment of 35 percent and now put it at around 15 percent."
· Lawmakers returning to Washington after a month-long break are expected to swiftly agree to an initial request for nearly $8 billion in disaster aid after Harvey, with the House of Representatives considering assistance on Wednesday.
· As the interest-rate watch continues for the currency and metal markets, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said Tuesday that the Fed may have to slow down the pace of interest-rate hikes given the recent low readings for inflation. Recent soft inflation may be due to depressed underlying inflation, she said.
· Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari separately said Tuesday that it’s very possible that the central bank’s four interest-rate hikes since late 2015 could now be doing “real harm” to the economy.
· Among other precious metals, silver was little changed at $17.89 an ounce, while platinum inched up 0.1 percent to $1,007.90.
· Palladium fell 1.4 percent to $963.23 after reaching its highest since February 2001 at $1,001 in the previous session.
Reference: Market Watch, Reuters
Thai
Eng