Gold shines brighter as the dollar falls and US data is in the spotlight

Gold prices rose on Thursday as the dollar weakened as investors prepared for a batch of US economic data to be released ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve (Central Bank) monetary policy meeting.

By 0230 GMT, spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1996.50 an ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.5 percent to $2005.20.

The dollar index fell 0.1 percent on Thursday, making the yellow metal less expensive for holders of other currencies.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill to raise the government’s debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion.

Meanwhile, First Republic Bank’s market value fell again on Wednesday as investors wait to see if it will be able to find buyers for the assets and turnaround without government support.

Safe-haven gold rose to a one-year high of $2,048.71 in mid-April when the banking crisis unfolded and weak economic readings in the United States boosted bets for a pause in rate hikes.

Lower interest rates increase the attractiveness of non-yielding gold.

Traders will closely follow the quarterly US GDP and weekly jobless claims data due at 1230 GMT, after data on Wednesday showed that new orders for major US-made manufacturing goods fell more than expected in March, while shipments fell, which is likely to Lower spending on equipment slowed economic growth in the first quarter of the year.

For other precious metals, spot silver increased 0.5 percent to $25.02 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.3% to $1,092.68, and palladium rose 0.1% to $1,513.81.