Gold stays firm above $4,400 as US inflation cools
Gold holds above $4,400/oz near ten-week highs after US consumer inflation slowed for a second straight month to 3.4% in July.
Gold held above $4,400 an ounce on Thursday, hovering near ten-week highs as relatively stable US consumer inflation reduced pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the near term. 1% from the previous month. Investors now await producer inflation data due later in the global day for further clues on the trajectory of price pressures. Markets now see around a 40% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike from the Fed in September, down from nearly 50% a day earlier.
Gold also drew support from a pullback in oil prices as investors assessed the prospects of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, escalating rhetoric between the US and Iran amid deadlocked negotiations reduced the likelihood of an imminent agreement.