By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Gold futures edged higher Friday in early afternoon trading in East Asia, helped by a falling dollar as traders looked ahead to a much anticipated speech later in the day by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Benchmark gold for December GC1Z +0.49% was up $14.90, or 0.9%, to $1,778.10 per troy ounce.
The gains added to a firmer U.S. session, where gold futures added $5.90, or 0.3%, to finish at $1,763.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. See report on Thursday’s gold moves.
Silver for September SI1U -0.86% delivery was little changed, rising 3 U.S. cents, or 0.1% to $40.82 an ounce. In New York trade on Thursday the contract vaulted $1.58, or 4%, to $40.75 an ounce.
The gains came as the dollar weakened in Asian trade, with the dollar index DXY -0.40% falling to 74.035 versus 74.262 in North American trading late Thursday. Dollar-denominated gold tends to rise as the dollar falls. See currencies.
Capital Economics analysts said its was unlikely Bernanke would unveil a third round of asset purchases, or “Quantitative Easing 3,” during his speech at the kickoff to the weekend symposium of U.S. central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyo.
“The difference between now and last year, when Bernanke used his Jackson Hole speech to hint that QE2 was in the pipeline, is that the rebound in core inflation to a 19-month high of 1.8% in July means there is no immediate threat of deflation,” Capital Economics analyst Paul Dales said in a note.
Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.
