Gold rises supported by concerns about growth and inflation

Gold prices rose on Tuesday as investors sought safe assets amid concerns about global growth and rising inflation, but bets on sharp US interest rate hikes kept the yellow metal close to its four-week low hit in the previous session.

Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,903.70 an ounce by 0953 GMT. Prices touched $1,890.20 on Monday, the lowest since March 29.

US gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,904.40 an ounce.

With the US Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates by half a percentage point in each of its next meetings, there was concern in the markets that the rapid pace of tightening could hamper the global economic recovery.

Markets were also affected by the economic repercussions of China’s COVID-19 lockdown.

The dollar, a rival safe haven, rose to a two-year high, making gold priced in dollars more expensive for holders of other currencies and holding back further gains for the precious metal.

Meanwhile, palladium rose one percent to $2,166.26 an ounce, a day after concerns about a drop in demand due to Covid closures in China, which led to a decline of 12.9 percent.

And silver rose in spot transactions 0.6 percent to $23.74 an ounce, and platinum rose 0.2 percent to $922.69.