Gold is holding near a 9-month high, thanks to hopes of slowing interest rate hikes

Gold prices stabilized after rising to their highest levels in nearly nine months on Monday, as a weaker dollar and expectations of a slower Federal Reserve interest rate hike added to the yellow metal’s appeal.

The price of gold in instant transactions was 1918.66 dollars an ounce at 0548 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices hit $1,929 an ounce, their highest since late April.

US gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $1,923.20.

The dollar index fell 0.3 percent, making gold priced in the US currency a more attractive bet.

The US central bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points four times last year, before slowing the pace to 50 basis points in December. Most traders expect it to raise it by 25 basis points at its next policy meeting on January 31-February 1.

Gold is a non-returnable asset, and therefore tends to benefit from low interest rates because it reduces the returns of other assets such as government bonds and the dollar.

Investors will also be watching US retail sales data due on Wednesday.

In terms of other precious metals, the spot silver price rose 0.5 percent to $24.37, after reaching its highest level in nearly two weeks. Platinum rose 0.1 percent to $1,065.46, while palladium fell 1.2 percent to $1,767.69.