Metals: Gold Rises After Weaker-Than-Expected Inflation Data
December 13 2017 - 10:52AM
Dow Jones News
By Ira Iosebashvili
Gold prices rose Wednesday, as investors reacted to
weaker-than-expected inflation data ahead of a Federal Reserve
statement later in the session.
Gold for February delivery was recently up 0.3% at $1,245.80 a
troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Underlying inflation pressures gave signs of moderating last
month, a Labor Department report showed Wednesday. Core prices rose
0.1%, a slowdown from the previous month's 0.2% increase.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected core
prices to rise 0.2% on the month.
Weaker inflation data undercuts the case for the Federal Reserve
to raise rates more aggressively next year. Expectations of a more
dovish Fed tend to boost gold, which struggles to compete with
yield-bearing investments when rates rise.
With many expecting the Fed to raise interest rates at the
conclusion of its meeting this afternoon, investors will likely
focus on the central bank's economic and rates projections for
2018.
Some market participants may be unwinding their bets on a lower
gold price ahead of the statement, in case the central bank's
message is less hawkish than expected, wrote George Gero, managing
director at RBC Wealth Management, in a note to clients.
In base metals, copper for March delivery was recently up 0.8%
at $3.0455 a pound.
Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2017 11:37 ET (16:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.