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Investing.com — Gold prices hovered just below their all-time high in Asian trading on Monday, with investors looking to upcoming U.S. inflation data for further clues about when the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates. The focus shifted to.
Bullion prices soared to record highs last week on hopes of lower interest rates, especially after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said inflation was nearing a level the Fed was comfortable with.
Moderate labor market data showing some cooling in US employment also supported bullion prices, as did lower US Treasury yields.
By 12:50 ET (04:50 GMT), the price for April expiry was up 0.1% at $2,180.47 an ounce. Both instruments were trading just below their record highs reached on Friday.
Gold futures hit a lifetime high of $2,203.0 per ounce last week, and spot gold hit a lifetime high of $2,195.20 an ounce last week.
CPI data to watch after mixed Fed signals and labor data
The focus is squarely on US figures due out on Tuesday for further clues on interest rates.
The statistics show that inflation is still expected to slow somewhat through February, although it remains well above the Fed’s annual target of 2%.
U.S. inflation will be closely watched this week, especially after Powell and a range of Fed officials suggested that concerns about the persistence of inflation were the central bank’s biggest consideration in lowering interest rates. right.
The prospect of interest rate cuts was the biggest boost to gold prices in the past two weeks, especially as Friday’s labor data also showed a cooling in employment.
Although wages rose more than expected in February, January’s salary statistics also rose, although they were revised down significantly.
Other precious metals also eased on Monday, continuing their strong gains from last week. It rose 0.2% to $919.40 an ounce, while it fell 0.1% to $24.517 an ounce.
China statistics mixed, copper price in range
Among industrial metals, the May deadline was steady at $3.8957 per pound as of Monday, tracking moderate economic signals from top importer China.
China’s copper imports increased in the first two months of this year, according to data released last week. However, the pace of growth remained slow, especially as domestic factory activity remained weak.
This idea was reinforced by inflation figures released over the weekend. Although it grew slightly more than expected, it pushed further into deflationary territory and shows that factory activity, a key driver of China’s copper demand, remains weak.
