Gold futures climb 1% on soft dollar, Greece deadlock concerns

Investing.com - Gold prices rallied to a one-week high on Wednesday, as a weaker U.S. dollar combined with uncertainty over the future of Greece boosted the precious metal.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery hit an intraday peak of $1,191.80 a troy ounce, the most since June 3, before trading at $1,189.00 during U.S. morning hours, up $11.40, or 0.97%.

A day earlier, gold prices rose $4.00, or 0.34%, to close at $1,177.60. Futures were likely to find support at $1,162.10, the low from June 5, and resistance at $1,195.60, the high from June 3.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.65% to 94.54 early on Wednesday, the weakest level since May 19.

Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, developments surrounding talks between Greece and its international creditors remained in focus.

On Tuesday European officials dismissed economic reforms put forward by Athens, saying they did not do enough to meet creditors’ demands. Athens was expected to resume talks on a cash-for-reforms deal with its international lenders later in the day.

Greece delayed a key debt payment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday, saying it would repay the money along with other payments due this month by the end of June.

Gold's gains remained limited amid speculation the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as early as September.

Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.

Also on the Comex, silver futures for July delivery increased 11.5 cents, or 0.72%, to trade at $16.07 a troy ounce. Silver prices dipped 0.2 cents, or 0.01% on Tuesday to end at $15.95.

Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for July delivery jumped 3.2 cents, or 1.19%, to trade at $2.746 a pound, the most since June 3, amid speculation policymakers in China will have to introduce further stimulus measures to jumpstart the economy amid lackluster growth.

The Asian nation is the world's largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 40% of global demand.