Bullion is highly sensitive to rising US interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced. Photo: AFPBengaluru: Gold prices inched up on Wednesday, but remained near four-week lows hit in the previous session as expectations for a US rate hike in March gathered momentum. Investors are now awaiting non-farm payrolls data for February on Friday as a key barometer of the US economy. Whether they are picking up gold at a bargain rate or are catching a falling knife remains to be seen,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer at DoubleLine Capital, said on Tuesday he expected the Fed to begin a campaign this month of “old school” sequential interest rate hikes until “something breaks”, such as a US recession.

Source: Mint March 08, 2017 06:00 UTC