(RTTNews) – Gold rose on Friday, but headed for its fourth consecutive weekly decline as the US dollar boosted by the Fed’s dovish stance.
Spot gold rose 0.6 percent to $4,050.63 an ounce, but remained vulnerable to another weekly loss after slipping to a more than seven-month low earlier this week. US gold futures were up half a percent at $4,066.12.
The dollar index weakened slightly as Thursday’s PCE inflation data matched expectations and traders reduced bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. note fell near a seven-week low after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said monetary policy is “well positioned” for the current economic environment, suggesting the Fed may not need to be as aggressive as markets are pricing in.
Additionally, Williams pushed back the expected return on the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target from 2027 to 2028.
Separately, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austin Goolsbee said inflation was still headed in the wrong direction but there had been some improvement in service inflation.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell nearly 4 percent from levels seen in late February despite an attack on a container ship near Oman raising new security concerns and threatening maritime trade.
The incident has raised concerns that Iran is seeking to establish greater control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships against using any Hormuz route not approved by Iran, calling alternative routes ‘highly dangerous and prohibited’.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said its evacuation plan would be put on hold until safety assurances could be secured for both the ships involved in the evacuation and commercial vessels operating in the area.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. Reflect the views of.
