Gold climbs over 3% on weaker dollar; eyes on MidEast developments
GLD•Metals rise as Trump comments on Iran talks
U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration had "very good discussions" with Iran, fuelling expectations of an imminent end to the five-month conflict.
Spot silver XAG= rose 4.2% to $62.05 per ounce, platinum XPT= gained 0.5% to $1,725.58, after touching its highest level since June 17, and palladium XPD= climbed 0.5% to $1,359.80, and touched its highest level since early June earlier.
Gold jumps on weaker dollar and lower yields
Gold jumped over 3% on Wednesday, propelled by a weaker U.S. dollar and lower Treasury yields, while markets monitored developments in the Middle East for fresh signals on inflation and interest rate outlook.
Spot gold XAU= climbed 3% to $4,199.78 per ounce by 09:44 a.m. EDT (1344 GMT). Bullion touched its highest level since June 22 earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 2.6% to $4,260.80.
"Two days of lower yields and a week of softer dollar seem to be clearing brush in the path ahead of gold and silver," said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.
The U.S. dollar was near its lowest against the Japanese currency in three months, making dollar-priced bullion more affordable for overseas buyers, while yield on U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR hovered near one-week lows.
Payroll data and Fed comments shape rate outlook
U.S. private payrolls growth slowed in July, with payrolls increasing 44,000, below economists' expectations for a 70,000 gain, the ADP national employment report showed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Fed Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid said on Tuesday that some sort of monetary policy tightening is needed to get "too high" inflation back to the 2% target, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari in an interview with CNBC said he believed now is the time to start slowly moving interest rates higher.
