Gold rises slightly in narrow-range transactions ahead of Fed

Gold prices rose somewhat on Tuesday and swung within a narrow range during the day as the dollar weakened, while investors avoided big bets ahead of an expected hike in US interest rates.

And the gold price rose 0.5 percent in spot transactions to $1,726.83 an ounce by 0725 GMT.

US gold futures rose 0.3 percent to $1,724.90 an ounce.

The dollar fell for the fourth consecutive session, falling 0.1 percent against rival currencies, making dollar-denominated gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday. Raising interest rates by this large would practically end the support for the economy in the period of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Raising interest increases the opportunity cost of acquiring gold, which does not generate fixed returns.

For other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions 1.2 percent to $ 18.63 an ounce, platinum increased 0.9 percent to $ 887.10, and palladium rose 0.5 percent to $ 2018.09.