Singapore - Gold gained from the lowest close in more than two weeks ahead of gatherings this week at the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, with the dollar falling amid speculation that US policy makers won’t raise rates this time around. Silver jumped.
Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.6 percent to $1,317.85 an ounce and traded at $1,317.39 at 3.08pm in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal closed at $1,310.35 on Friday, the lowest since August 31. Silver surged as much as 2.1 percent, the most since September 6, to $19.1801 an ounce.
Gold has given up some gains made in the first half of the year as investors debate the likely outlook for policy from the world’s central banks, with higher rates bad news for the metal. The odds of a US rate increase at the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which ends September 21, remain at just 20 percent, with the chance of a move in December above 50 percent.
“The market is just suggesting that a rate increase this week is not likely,” David Lennox, resources analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said by phone. “At this stage, the market is just focused on what’s going to happen this week.”
Greenback eases
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped as much as 0.4 percent on Monday as investors counted down toward the central bankers’ gatherings. Last week the gauge rose 1 percent, and gained on Friday to the highest level since July 29.
Hedge funds have cut their bets on a bullion rally by the most in more than three months, with speculation mounting that Fed officials, in the statement scheduled for release this week, will still signal that higher US interest rates are on the way.
Silver’s surge is following gold as prices are expected to be sustained at higher levels if the rate rise is pushed to the end of the year, Lennox said.
Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by the metal added 9.8 metric tons to 2,024.4 tons on Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. In China, bullion of 99.99 percent purity declined 0.5 percent to 283.43 yuan a gram ($1,321.74 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Markets were shut on Thursday and Friday. On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for December delivery dropped 0.5 percent to 284.50 yuan a gram, while silver rose 0.9 percent to 4,286 yuan a kilogram. Platinum advanced 1.2 percent and palladium climbed 0.8 percent.
BLOOMBERG