WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices moved higher on Friday even as the dollar climbed to a fresh record high amid rising speculation about steeper interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Gold prices climbed up on safe-haven buying amid lingering concerns about inflation and the likely economic impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the continued surge in coronavirus cases in Shanghai.
The dollar index spurted to 100.19 before retreating from there and paring some gains. The dollar index was hovering around 99.90, up 0.15% from the previous close, a little while ago.
Gold futures for June ended up by $7.80 or about 0.4% at $1,945.60 an ounce. Gold futures gained about 1.2% in the week.
Silver futures for May ended higher by $0.088 at $24.823 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $4.7250 per pound, up $0.0255 from the previous close.
Data released by the Commerce Department showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. surged by more than expected in the month of February, spiking by 2.5%, after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.2% in January.
Economists had expected wholesale inventories to shoot up by 2.1% compared to the 0.8% increase originally reported for the previous month.
Next week, traders are likely to keep a close eye on reports on consumer and producer price inflation, retail sales and industrial production.
The data may impact the outlook for interest rates amid recent indications the Federal Reserve plans to tighten monetary policy more aggressively than previously anticipated.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday that the central bank remained 'behind the curve' on interest rates and preferred to raise the federal funds rate by another 3 percentage points by the end of the year.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and his Atlanta counterpart Raphael Bostic said that it is appropriate to raise rates to neutral but in a measured manner.
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