MW:Gold inches higher on weak dollar, easing hopes
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold futures inched higher on Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and expectations for policy easing from central banks.
Gold futures for December delivery GCZ2 +0.17% gained $2.10, or 0.1%, to 1,614.60 an ounce.
On Monday, the yellow metal snapped a three-day winning streak amid losses for most global equities and commodities.
A weaker dollar helped boost metals prices on Tuesday, as dollar-denominated commodities get cheaper for holders of other currencies. The ICE dollar index DXY -0.09% fell to 82.34 from 82.404 late in the North American session on Monday.
Hopes for additional policy easing further supported gold prices, analysts at Commerzbank said.
“Forthcoming monetary easing measures to be taken by central banks are likely to spark higher inflation rates, which should benefit gold as a store of value,” they wrote in a note to clients.
“What is more, the escalation of tensions in the Near and Middle East is causing the geopolitical risks to increase,” they added. “We are therefore confident that the remainder of the year will bring considerable price rises, and would put the gold price at above $1,900 per troy ounce by year’s end.”
In other trading, September silver futures SIU2 +0.37% gained 0.2% to $27.82 an ounce.
Copper for September delivery HGU2 +0.57% picked up 0.3% to $3.36 a pound, while October platinum PLV2 +1.09% added 0.6% to 1,401.00 an ounce.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
