WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices rose on Thursday as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell helped soothe investor concerns over an aggressive half-point rate hike this month.
Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,933.26 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.7 percent at $1,935.85.
In his Congressional testimony, Powell said that it would be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate at the meeting later this month on the back of high inflation and a strong labor market.
Powell cautioned that 'the near-term effects on the U.S. economy of the invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing war, the sanctions, and of events to come,' remained highly uncertain.
Geopolitical uncertainties also offered some support, with Fitch slashing Russia's sovereign credit rating six notches to 'junk' status, saying it was uncertain the country could service its debt.
Moody's soon followed with a similar downgrade to a junk B3 rating. MSCI Inc. and FTSE Russell are cutting Russian equities from widely-tracked indexes.
In economic releases, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended February 26, ISM non-manufacturing PMI for February and factory orders for January will be released in the New York session.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify on the semi-annual monetary policy report before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington DC.
Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2022 AFX News
