Gold and silver prices edged up early Thursday as Treasury yields slipped while investors awaited the release of the U.S. September consumer price inflation data.
Price action
-
Gold futures due in December
GCZ22,
+0.29%
climbed $3.20, or 0.2%, to $1,680 per ounce on Comex. -
Silver futures expiring in December
SIZ22,
+1.12%
advanced 19 cents, or 1%, to $19.13 per ounce. -
Palladium futures due in December
PAZ22,
+0.50%
rose $8.10, or 0.4%, to $2,144 per ounce, while platinum futures due in January
PLF23,
+0.51%
increased $7.10, or 0.3%, to $2,143 per ounce. -
Copper futures expiring in December
HGZ22,
+0.57%
gained 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.45 per pound.
What’s happening
With the strong dollar still preventing gold and silver from scoring serious gains, precious metals traders will evaluate the September consumer-price index, set to be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to get a sense of how large the next interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve might be, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.
“If the US inflation numbers come out strong, we are highly likely to see another interest rate hike of 75 basis points from the Fed, and that may be the pace going forward as well,” Aslam said.
Economists polled by FactSet expect the headline CPI reading to slow to 8.1% in September, down from 8.3% in August.
