Gold returns to where it started 2021 on Fed's dovish commitment

Gold notched a fresh four-month high as another Federal Reserve official talked down prospects for inflation, piling pressure on Treasury yields. Signs of inflation would “prove to be largely transitory,” Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said in a Yahoo! Finance interview. That echoed a number of recent dovish comments from the US central bank, and sent the yield on 10-year notes to the lowest in two weeks. On Wednesday gold edged higher after breaching the psychological barrier at $1,900 an ounce, which may have triggered technical buying.

Earlier in the year it was dogged by the improving outlook for the US economy following fresh fiscal aid and the success of the vaccine roll-out, which investors feared could see monetary stimulus tapered earlier than expected.

Weak US job numbers have helped assuage any concerns of tightening. Meanwhile, there have been signs of inflationary pressures building in commodity markets and snarled supply chains as the global economy returns to normality, burnishing gold’s appeal as a hedge. Gold rose 0.5 per cent to $1,908.67 an ounce by 9:20 am in London. The precious metal is up almost 8 per cent this month, on course for its biggest gain since July. Silver, platinum and palladium also advanced, while a gauge of the dollar was little changed.