Gold remains little changed after eight straight days of gains as traders look to Tuesday's Consumer Price Index release for hints as to when the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates. There wasn't.
Bullion for immediate delivery traded in a narrow range on Monday, hitting nominal highs for the fourth day in a row, after rising nearly 5% last week. Friday's gains were supported by U.S. data showing unemployment at a two-year high, contributing to a decline in the dollar and 10-year Treasury yields.
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The move surprised some investors, given that gold prices have soared in March and there has been no significant change in the outlook for when the Fed will start cutting interest rates. Chairman Jerome Powell stressed in Congressional testimony last week that the central bank needed “more evidence” that inflation was on track to its 2% target before lowering borrowing costs. Policymakers are making similar statements.
Gold bulls' optimism will be tested this week by the latest US inflation data due out on Tuesday. A better-than-expected reading, as happened last month, would be a setback for further gains in the precious metal. That's because precious metals don't have yields and don't benefit from a low interest rate environment.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,177.48 an ounce as of 9:21 a.m. in London, after last week's high of $2,195.15. Silver was unchanged after rising more than 5% last week. Palladium and platinum rose modestly after rising around 7% and 3% respectively last week.
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