Gold Edges Higher as Fed Backs September Easing

A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
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Gold Edges Higher as Fed Backs September Easing

A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
A jeweller shows a gold bar at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on May 20, 2024. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)

Gold prices ticked up on Monday, extending gains from the last session as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish remarks solidified expectations of an interest rate cut next month.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,516.09 per ounce by 0027 GMT. US gold futures gained 0.2% to $2,551.30.

The dollar hovered near its lowest level in about eight months, making gold cheaper for other currency holders, while benchmark 10-year yields also slipped, Reuters reported.

On Friday, Powell signalled support for policy easing, saying that "the time has come" for the Fed to cut rates amid rising risks to the job market, even as inflation was in reach of the U.S. central bank's 2% target.

Traders have fully priced in a Fed easing for next month, with a 64% chance of a 25-basis-point cut and about 36% chance of a bigger 50-bp reduction, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

A low interest rate environment tends to boost non-yielding bullion's appeal.



Bank of China President Resigns

FILE PHOTO: Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
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Bank of China President Resigns

FILE PHOTO: Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

Bank of China Vice Chairman and President Liu Jin resigned for personal reasons effective on Sunday, the bank said.
The state-owned lender said its board had approved Chairman Ge Haijiao to serve as acting president, according to a filing released by the bank on Sunday.
Bank of China (BOC) did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. Liu could not be immediately reached for comment.
Liu, born in 1967, was named as president of the bank in April 2021. He previously served as president of China Everbright Bank from January 2020 to March 2021 and vice president of policy lender China Development Bank from September 2018 to November 2019.
Liu's departure follows that of former BOC Chairman Liu Liange, who stepped down in March 2023 and was placed under investigation by the anti-graft watchdog before pleading guilty to taking bribes worth more than 121 million yuan, as China intensified its anti-corruption campaign in the $66 trillion financial industry.
Liu Jin has also worked for state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest lender by assets, as head of investment banking department and head of Jiangsu provincial branch.