Gold rose more than 1% on Thursday as the dollar weakened after the US Federal Reserve decided to accelerate the withdrawal of its pandemic-era stimulus in a widely expected move.
Spot gold rose 1% to $ 1,795.41 per ounce. Gold futures in the United States gained 1.9% to $ 1,798.20.
The dollar index widened its losses to a one-week low against its rival currencies, lowering the price of gold bullion for buyers of other currencies.
“The gold market has digested the impact of the Fed’s accelerating tapering,” said Suki Cooper, an analyst at Standard Chartered, referring to the reduction in bond purchases.
“The market has focused on the risks of tapering and inflation data, but concerns about the Omicron variant and its transmission, which affects global mobility, could begin to garner more attention,” added the subject matter specialist. cousins.
Analysts say gold gained ground despite the possibility of higher US interest rates.
This increases the opportunity cost of holding the bullion, as the prospects for rate hikes had been discounted prior to the Fed’s announcement.
Other central banks were also more aggressive, and on Thursday the Bank of England became the first G7 economy to raise interest rates after the pandemic.
Silver, meanwhile, rose 1.5% to $ 22.39 an ounce.
