Gold Prices Inch Higher With US Inflation Data in Focus

A participant shows gold bars during the 21st edition of the international gold and jewelry exhibition at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Kuwait City on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Yasser AL ZAYYAT / AFP)

Gold prices nudged higher on Thursday, while traders await a key US inflation data due later in the day to gauge the Federal Reserve's future monetary policy stance.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,613.70 per ounce, as of 0602 GMT, after easing for the previous six sessions. Prices scaled a record high last month.
US gold futures also gained 0.2% at $2,630.80, Reuters reported.
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September is due at 1230 GMT and Producer Price Index (PPI) data on Friday.
"If core CPI comes hotter, US Treasury yields will go higher and that is bad for gold. I think there is room for prices to come down, but don't necessarily see a downtrend in the big picture," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro, Tastylive.
Markets see an 85% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in November.
A "substantial majority" of Fed officials at the September meeting supported beginning an era of easier monetary policy with an outsized half-point rate cut, but agreed that further easing will be data-driven, according to its minutes.
The zero-yielding bullion is preferred in a low-interest rate environment as well as amid periods of economic and geopolitical turmoil.
Analysts at BMI increased their 2024 gold price forecast to $2,375 from $2,250, and noted that a potential Fed rate reduction comes against a myriad of geopolitical tensions, with the Middle East jitters and the upcoming US presidential elections at the forefront.
Meanwhile, Israel's plans to strike Iran added to concerns of wider conflict in the Middle East.
Spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $30.48 per ounce.
ANZ upgraded its short-term silver forecast to $34. "Solid industrial demand and stagnant supply are expected to widen the market deficit, presenting a strong investment case," it said.
Platinum added 1.5% to $959.56 and palladium firmed 1% to $1,049.50.