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Gold hit a one-month peak on Thursday, spurred by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish comments and some concerns over a stalling global economy.

· Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,829.16 per ounce by 1:59 pm EDT.

· U.S. gold futures settled up nearly 0.3% to $1,829.00.

· Gold prices had hit a one-month peak earlier in the session after Powell said on Wednesday in congressional testimony that the U.S. job market was “still a ways off” from the progress that the central bank wants to see before reducing its support for the economy.

· Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, said that gold’s move above $1,800 this week along with concerns over a sell-off in equity markets had driven some safe-haven buying of bullion.

“Globally, there are some spots that are pretty hot with that Delta variant, and China slowing down a bit has sparked concerns about global equity markets, so you’re getting some flight to safety into gold and silver.”

· China’s economy grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter, while U.S. weekly jobless claims dropped to a 16-month low last week.

· Non-yielding gold tends to gain in a low interest-rate environment, while some investors also view gold as a hedge against higher inflation.

· “We’re still seeing a lot of inflation and it does not seem to be as transitory as everyone thinks,” said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors.

Given the inflation and lower real interest rates, gold could attract more bids and move towards $1,900 in the coming months, Matousek added.

· Gold to fall to $1,750 by year end - Bannockburn Global Forex

The gold market is holding up well, but it faces competition with rising interest rates, a red-hot equity market and resilient strength in the U.S. dollar, according to one market strategist.

In an interview with Kitco News, Marc Chandler, managing director at Bannockburn Global Forex, said that the precious metal has started July off on solid footing, with today being only the third down day in the last 12 days. However, he added that he doesn't see gold prices getting above critical resistance at $1,850 an ounce.

Looking to year-end, Chandler said that he sees gold prices trading around $1,750 an ounce. He added that gold appears to be stuck in a broader range between $1,500 and $2,000 an ounce.

· Dollar recovers ground as jobless claims data helps

The U.S. dollar edged higher on Thursday, recovering some of the ground lost in the prior session after the head of the Federal Reserve told Congress he saw no need to rush the shift towards tighter post-pandemic monetary policy.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was 0.1% higher at 92.504. The index fell as low as 92.272 earlier in the session.

The index has climbed in recent weeks as investors got more sanguine about the outlook for the greenback, driven by an increasingly upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy by the Federal Reserve, which has brought forward the time frame on when it will next raise rates.

· Yellen sees ‘several more months of rapid inflation’ before easing, worries about housing impact

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned Thursday that prices could continue to rise for several more months, though she expects the recent startling inflation run to ease over time,.

· Fed Chair Powell grilled by grouchy senators over inflation and climate change, even as economy rebounds

· Reuters poll: Fed to shutter pandemic support asset purchases by end-2022

The Federal Reserve will shutter its asset purchases programme by end-2022, according to a Reuters poll, with a few more economists now predicting a rate hike as early as next year, but they pegged new COVID-19 variants as the biggest economic risk.

· Fed should have started taper discussions ‘a meeting or two ago’: Strategist

Julian Emanuel of BTIG discusses the signs that could herald the beginnings of speculative froth in the markets. He also says the Federal Reserve should begin winding down its ultra-easy policy before it gets nearer to the 2022 election year.

· Monthly child tax credit payments are one of the best forms of government spending, economist says

· U.S. to sanction Chinese officials and warn companies over Hong Kong -sources

· World Bank trims East Asia, Pacific GDP forecast amid COVID-19 concerns

· HSBC sees Singapore as a standout among Southeast Asia’s markets as region grapples with Covid

Reference: Kitco, CNBC, Reuters, Worldometers