WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices climbed higher on Thursday, as the dollar eased with some Fed members signaling a lighter tightening pace going forward after data showed the headline consumer price inflation cooled from 7.1% to 6.5% in December.
The dollar index dropped to 102.08, and despite recovering to 102.22, is down nearly 1% from the previous close.
Gold futures for February ended higher by $19.90 or about 1.1% at $1,898.80 an ounce.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.523 at $24.004 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $4,1965 per pound, up $0.0305 from the previous close.
Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA, says 'gold has been steadily climbing since November, but it could be running out of momentum right now. The dollar might be poised for a short-term rebound that could weigh gold down. Gold needs to have a daily close above the $1900 level to pave the way for another move higher.'
Boston Federal Reserve bank leader Susan Collins remarked to the New York Times that she was in favor of raising interest rates to just above 5 percent this year.
The U.S. central bank slowed its pace of rate hikes to 50 basis points in December after four consecutive 75 bps increases.
Data released by the Labor Department showed U.S. consumer price index edged down by 0.1% in December after inching up by 0.1% in November. Economists had expected consumer prices to come in unchanged.
The report also showed the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 6.5% in December from 7.1% in November, in line with expectations. The annual growth was the slowest since October 2021.
The annual rate of core price growth slowed to 5.7% in December from 6% in November. The year-over-year growth was also in line with expectations.
The Labor Department also released a separate report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged slightly lower in the week ended January 7th, falling to 205,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 206,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 204,000 originally reported for the previous week.
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