LONDON—The spot price of gold inched higher, but remained below the eight-week intraday high hit Thursday, as traders awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on the U.S. economic outlook, as well as revised data on U.S. second-quarter output.
Mr. Bernanke's speech is due at 10 a.m. EDT. and a nod toward quantitative easing would be positive for gold, UBS precious metals analyst Edel Tully said. But prices also could rise even if the Fed fails give any indications on future monetary policy.
"If Bernanke fails to provide detail, this could also prove positive for gold: equity markets will be disappointed, and risk aversion, which has been an important driver of gold's $80 rise over the past month, will likely intensify," she said.
Revised data on U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT. An initial estimate of 2.4% growth is widely expected to be revised downward. A weaker-than-expected result, after a recent string of disappointing U.S. economic data releases, should also be gold-positive, market participants said.
Spot gold recently traded up $1.90, or 0.2%, at $1,238.20 a troy ounce but below Thursday's peak of $1,244.
Spot silver was up five cents, or 0.3%, at $18.98 an ounce. Spot platinum was down $2, or 0.1%, at $1,527 an ounce, and spot palladium was down $2, or 0.4%, at $496 an ounce.
