By Arundhati Sarkar
Dec 29 (Reuters) – Gold edged higher on Thursday helped by a dip in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields, although prices moved in a tight range as investors refrained from making large bets in anticipation of fresh market drivers.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.3% to $1,808.65 per ounce by 1002 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCv1 were little changed at $1,815.60.
“The U.S. jobless data later today will be scrutinised for its possible impact on the Fed strategy with a below expectation reading likely triggering a decline in the dollar and by extension gold should benefit to the upside,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.
Spot gold was also headed for a 9% quarterly gain, with prices up nearly $200 from a more than two-year low hit in September on hopes of the U.S. central bank slowing its pace of interest rate hikes.
“There seems to be some optimism for gold as we head towards the new year. The market appears well supported at its 200-day moving average at $1,782 and encouragingly for gold bulls, silver is outperforming as this is often a good indicator of a move higher in the entire metals complex,” Norman added.
Helping gold eke out gains, the dollar index dipped 0.3%, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased after hitting a six-week high in the previous session. US/
A peak in the U.S. dollar and rates seems likely over the next three to six months, while physical consumption for both gold and silver, particularly from Asia, has been much stronger in the second half of this year than consensus projections, Citi analysts said in a note.
“While a deep US and/or global recession could pose some risk for silver industrial demand, financial gold consumption and central bank demand should stay steady next year.”
Elsewhere, spot silver XAG= rose 0.7% to $23.70 per ounce, platinum XPT= also added 0.7% to $1,015.25.
Palladium XPD= fell 0.9% to $1,767.93.
(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Ediitng by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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