Gold is near a 3-week low as the dollar rises and eyes are on US inflation data

On Monday, gold prices hovered near the lowest level in three weeks in light of the rise in the dollar and investors awaited US inflation data to obtain more indications about the path of US interest rates.

Gold rose in spot transactions by 0.1 percent, recording $1,938.12 per ounce by 0714 GMT. US gold futures increased 0.3 percent to $1,942.50.

Gold fell 2.8 percent last week, recording the worst weekly performance in more than a month, as statements by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell undermined hopes for lowering interest rates.

“The focus is kind of on whether the CPI data will cause the Fed to pause or raise interest rates,” said Nicholas Vrabel of ABC Refinery. “So I think the markets are moving slightly ahead of this data.”

US consumer price data is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

The dollar rose 0.1 percent against other major currencies and recorded the highest level in a week in the previous session, which reduced the attractiveness of gold for holders of other currencies.

As for other precious metals, silver fell in spot transactions 0.4 percent to $22.12 per ounce, while platinum increased 0.7 percent to $845.60.

Palladium increased 0.5 percent to $967.85 per ounce, but it is still near the lowest level since 2018.