Proactive Investors - Gold firmed to more than a six-month high as the US dollar eased again lower on hopes of an end to US interest rate hikes.
Spot gold was up 0.5% at US$2,012 per ounce having touched $2,017 earlier in the day.
Gold and the dollar traditionally move in opposite directions and analysts said the metal's rally clearly reflected the recent weakness in the US currency, which hit a two-month low last week against other major currencies.
Weak US October job market data and a fresh fall in inflation have seen traders pricing out any further Fed rate hikes in coming months, with pricing now reflecting expectations for a rate cut over the first half of 2024.
Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at OANDA. Described gold’s move as "purely technical" and driven by the inflation data and jobs report in the US last week.
Currently, gold prices are well above their 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages though still around $60 below August 2020's all-time high of $2,072.49.
Economic data expected this week includes revised U.S. third-quarter GDP figures on Wednesday and the PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, on Thursday.
"Economic figures coming out of the U.S. this week, both on the growth and inflation front, will make or break a case for whether gold remains above $2,000," said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com told Reuters.
Gold’s recent gains are also pulling up the value of silver, analysts added, which has gained almost 13% in the past two weeks as the ratio between the two prices, a key driver for the junior metal, has adjusted.
Silver today jumped 1.9% to $24.76 per ounce making the ratio with gold around 81:1.
Shares in FTSE 100 gold miner Endeavour Mining were up 1.4% but it was Fresnillo (LON:FRES), with substantial interests in both metals, that did best, rising by nearly 5%.