Gold prices edged lower on Friday as the dollar rose to a nearly one-month high, but investors awaited a key inflation report later in the day for further clues about the trajectory of U.S. monetary policy.
basics
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $4,995.91 an ounce by 0149 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures for April rose 0.3% to $5,013.60.
* The dollar was poised to cap its strongest weekly performance since October, buoyed by a set of better-than-expected economic data, a more hawkish Federal Reserve outlook and tensions between the United States and Iran that kept markets on edge.
Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, leading to low volume and potentially volatile price movements, traders said.
*Investors were awaiting personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, for further clues about U.S. monetary policy. Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in low interest rate environments.
*The market currently expects three 25 basis point rate cuts this year, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
*Goldman Sachs said in a note that it expects significant upside risk to its end-2026 gold price forecast of $5,400 due to further diversification in the private sector expressed through call option structures.
*We also believe that the medium-term trajectory of gold prices will continue to be upward, with the potential for increased volatility.
– U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Iran that it must come to a deal over its nuclear program or “really bad things” will happen, setting a deadline of 10 to 15 days and threatening to retaliate if Iran attacks U.S. military bases in the region.
* Spot silver fell 0.1% to $78.29 an ounce.
* Spot platinum fell 0.3% to $2,064.27 an ounce and palladium fell 0.5% to $1,677.19.
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
