Gold rose on Thursday on a weaker dollar and lower US yields after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed would only gradually tighten monetary policy, curbing speculation that interest rates would rise more than once this year.
While a weaker dollar could be helpful for gold over the short-term, the continued strength in US equities remain a drag, said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
The US economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio, although low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Yellen had said on Wednesday.
Asian shares scaled a two-year top on Thursday as investors wagered policy tightening in the US. would be glacial at best, lifting Wall Street to record peaks and lowering bond yields almost everywhere.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar shed about 0.3 per cent at 95.499. Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $1,222.71 per ounce at 0715 GMT. US gold futures for August delivery rose 0.3 per cent to $1,222.10 per ounce.
“We feel that the (recent) sell-off in gold, and especially silver, was overdone and bargain hunters are now pushing prices back up a bit,” said Gregor Gregersen, Founder at Singapore-based Silver Bullion Pte Ltd.
Lower yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold, while a weaker dollar makes bullion cheaper for non-US investors.
“However, gold prices have seen only a mild recovery following Yellen's testimony on Wednesday; there has not been any convincing reversal as such, only a mild pullback,” said Hareesh V, head of research at Geofin Comtrade Ltd.
A technical bounceback could push prices above the $1,230 level, around the 200-day moving average, and are likely to be congested in the $1,248-$1,180 range in the short term, he said.
Spot gold may revisit its July 10 low of $1,204.45 per ounce, as its bounce from this level could have completed, according to Reuters Technical analyst Wang Tao.
“Gold's fate in the short term will undoubtedly be decided on Friday now by the US CPI data which is indeed shaping up to be a major driver for the big Dollar, equities and bonds as well,” said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.2 per cent to $15.91 per ounce. “Interestingly, the gold/silver ratio is approaching 80, meaning that silver is very inexpensive compared to gold and is a particularly good bargain,” Gregor noted.
Palladium fell 0.2 per cent to $862.00 per ounce. Platinum rose 0.1 per cent to $917.25 per ounce, adding to a 1.7 per cent gain in the previous session, its biggest since June 2.