* Silver, platinum, palladium head for weekly gains
* Dollar set for fourth straight week of decline
* Traders await Jackson Hole for more Fed cues
* Gold up 2.5% so far this week
Aug 16 (Reuters) – Gold prices rose to an all-time high
on Friday as a cocktail of factors ranging from a weaker dollar,
growing expectations for a U.S. interest-rate cut in September
to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East bolstered demand for
bullion.
Spot gold was up 1.3% to $2,487.66 per ounce by 09:30
a.m. EDT (1330 GMT). Gold gained 2.5% so far this week. U.S.
gold futures rose 1.4% to $2,526.40.
The dollar index fell 0.3% and was on track for a
fourth week of losses, making gold more appealing for buyers
overseas.
“Gold surged to a fresh all-time high after two weeks of
extremely choppy trading as bulls finally impose their will,”
Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader, said.
“The $2,500 hurdle is likely to fall soon though attention
will shortly focus on Fed Chair Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole
a week from today to provide direction for a more detailed
outlook on the upcoming rate cuts.”
The July releases of the producer price index and consumer
price index this week indicated inflation was subsidising, which
could keep the U.S. Federal Reserve on track to start its
monetary easing cycle with a 25-basis point rate cut next month.
Traders look forward to minutes from the Fed’s previous
policy meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s outlook of the U.S.
economy next week.
In other news, the Israeli army on Friday ordered a fresh
evacuation of areas in southern and central Gaza previously
designated as a humanitarian safe zone, saying they had been
used by Hamas as a base to attack Israel.
Bullion is considered a hedge against geopolitical and
economic uncertainties and tends to thrive in a
low-interest-rate environment.
Elsewhere, silver fell 0.2% to $28.32 per ounce and
platinum rose 0.1% to $953.75. Palladium eased
0.2% to $942.25.
All metals were on track for weekly gains.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel and Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shreya Biswas)
