LONDON: Gold bounced back above $1,300 an ounce on Friday as the dollar slipped on weak US economic data.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing was open to additional monetary policy measures to support economic growth this year.

“The announcement of specific stimulus measures helped sentiment in China, which arguably is the global marginal consumer in automobiles, helping palladium climb quietly to new highs,” said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.

Spot palladium surged to a record $1,567.5 an ounce earlier in the session. The metal was trading 0.1pc lower at $1556.85, as of 11:17 am EDT (1517 GMT).

Fuelling gold’s advance, the dollar fell against its rivals, weighed down by weak manufacturing and factory output data, ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting next week.

In other precious metals, silver gained 0.9pc to $15.31 an ounce, and platinum jumped 1.2pc to $828.65.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2019