Gold hits one-week high as dollar slips, US fiscal worries mount

WASHINGTON: Gold prices rose on Wednesday to their highest levels in a week as the dollar weakened and investors sought safety amid US fiscal uncertainty, with Congress debating a sweeping tax bill.

Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $3,293.98 an ounce, as of 0209 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 12 earlier in the session.

US gold futures gained 0.3 per cent to $3,295.80.

The dollar retreated to its lowest level since May 8, making greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas currency holders.

“The general dollar index lost more than a full point in the last 24 hours as the Moody’s downgrade, plus skepticism about trumps tax bill continues to undermine the dollar,” said Marex analyst Edward Meir.

Trump on Tuesday pressed his fellow Republicans in the US Congress to unite behind a sweeping tax-cut bill, but apparently failed to convince a handful of holdouts who could still block a package that encompasses much of his domestic agenda.

Gold, traditionally considered a safe-haven asset during political and economic uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low-rate environment.

“Over the medium- to longer-term, further upside in gold is favoured, though if any positive trade-deal headlines arise this could be an obstacle for gold in attempting to reclaim the $3,500 level,” said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem told the Economic Club of Minnesota that easing trade tensions would allow the labor market to stay strong and inflation to remain on path to the Fed’s 2 per cent goal.

Traders now bet that the Fed will resume cutting rates in October and see around 54 basis points of cuts by the end of 2025.

Spot silver fell 0.2 per cent to $32.99 an ounce, platinum was down 0.3 per cent at $1,050.25. Palladium gained 0.5 per cent to $1,017.93, its highest level since February 4.

Read next: Oil gains over 1 per cent on report of Israeli plans to strike Iran