WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices rose Wednesday despite data showing U.S. core inflation has firmed.
The 12-month rate of core consumer price, stripping out food and energy prices, advanced to 2.1% from 1.8%.
That's above the Federal Reserve's 2% taget, hinting the Fed will continued to raise interest rates in 2018.
Today's consumer price reading was foreshadowed by the producer price report released yesterday.
Core PPI increased 2.9 percent in the 12 months through March, the biggest increase since August 2014, after climbing 2.7 percent in February.
Bolstered by its appeal as a hedge against inflation, June gold rose $13 to $1359 an ounce.
Geopolitical tensions and legal issues for the Trump Administration also gave gold prices a lift.
June gold settled at $1,360/oz, up $14.10, or 1.1%, the highest since late January.
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