Gold retreated on Wednesday from the previous day’s eight-week high as data showing the biggest pick-up in U.S. consumer prices in 2-1/2 years lifted the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields.
Moves were muted however as the markets awaited a speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen later in the session, which will be closely watched for clues on U.S. monetary policy.
Spot gold (XAU=) was down 0.6 percent at $1,209.34 an ounce by 2:45 p.m. EST (1945 GMT), after hitting its highest since mid-November on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures (GCv1) for February delivery settled down 0.07 percent at $1,212.10.
The U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent last month and 2.1 percent in the 12 months through December, the biggest year-on-year gain since June 2014.
“We expect a lot more aggressive rate hikes from the Fed in response to already rising inflationary pressures,” Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini said.
“Possibly there will be even stronger inflation due to Trump’s policies — it very much depends on what gets implemented at a fiscal level.”
Higher rates would weigh on gold, she said. The metal is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
