Gold rises to its highest level in 3 weeks as Dollar declines

Gold prices rose to a 3-week high on Thursday, July 28, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the US central bank may slow the pace of interest rate hikes in the coming months, affecting the dollar and US Treasury yields.

Spot gold rose 0.7% to $1,745.20 an ounce, its highest level since July 8.

US gold futures rose 1.4 percent to $1,743.70 an ounce.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, July 28, in an attempt to ease the sharpest inflation the country has seen since the 1980s.

Powell said another “extraordinarily large” rate hike would be appropriate to bring up at the September policy meeting. However, the decision would be made based on economic data coming in between now and then.

The dollar index fell 0.2% to its lowest level in more than 3 weeks, making gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.

As for other precious metals, silver jumped in spot transactions 1.3 percent to $ 19.38 an ounce, and platinum rose 0.7 percent to $ 892.36, and palladium rose 2.9 percent to $ 2090.42.