Investing.com - Gold prices gained in European morning trade on Thursday, rising toward the highest level in about 11 weeks as the U.S. dollar slumped after the Federal Reserve gave no firm signal on the timing of its next rate hike.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose to a session peak of $1,219.20 a troy ounce, the most since November 17.
It was last at $1,216.65 by 3:15AM ET (08:15GMT), up $8.15, or around 0.7%, after losing $3.10, or about 0.3%, a day earlier.
The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday as expected in its first meeting since President Donald Trump took office.
The U.S. central bank painted a relatively upbeat picture of the economy, noting that job gains remained solid, inflation had increased and economic confidence was rising, although it gave no firm signal on the timing of its next rate move.
The Fed projected at least three rate increases for 2017. However, traders remained unconvinced. Instead, markets are continuing to price in just two rate hikes during the course of this year, with the next being in June, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to a daily low of 99.39, a level not seen since November 14. It was last at 99.44 in European morning trade, down around 0.3%.
The greenback has been under pressure as concerns about the Trump Administration’s policies rattled investors.
Headlines from Washington will continue to dictate market sentiment as traders focus on Trump for further details on his promises of tax reform, infrastructure spending and deregulation as well as trade policies.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery jumped 18.3 cents, or 1.1%, to $17.63 a troy ounce, after rising to a more than two-month high of $17.66 earlier.
Meanwhile, platinum tacked on 0.9% to $1,008.25, the strongest level since early November, while palladium climbed around 0.7% to $768.33 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures were little changed at $2.714 a pound.
Futures rose to a one-and-a-half year peak of $2.738 on Wednesday with investors watching developments surrounding a strike by workers in Chile at the world's largest mine.