LONDON: Gold prices inched higher on Tuesday but were still hovering near their lowest in almost five months ahead of a widely expected US interest rate increase this week.
Spot gold was slightly higher at $1,242.31 an ounce by 1240GMT, after hitting its lowest since July 20 at $1,240.10 on Monday.
US gold futures fell 0.1 per cent to $1,246.30 an ounce. With an interest rate rise expected, the market is watching the US central bank’s two-day meeting for clues of the Federal Reserve’s future rate path.
Analysts at Standard Chartered noted that gold would likely recover quickly from its recent lows if the meeting outcome proves to be a dovish hike.
Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.4pc to $15.77 an ounce. Platinum was steady at $884.25 an ounce, having fallen for the last seven sessions. It touched its lowest since February 2016 at $878.50 on Friday. Palladium was 0.3pc lower at $1,007.12 an ounce.
Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2017
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