PRECIOUS-Gold gains as dollar off 2-month highs on Fed rate cut expectations

BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 10/11/24 05:55 AM EDT

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Bullion poised for second straight weekly decline

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Silver, platinum head for weekly fall

(Add details, updates prices as of 1316 GMT)

By Daksh Grover

Oct 11 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains after the release of the latest data on U.S. producer prices on Friday, as the U.S. dollar pulled back from two-month highs on heightened expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in November.

Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,647.55 per ounce by 1316 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained about 1% to $2,665.

U.S. producer prices were unchanged in September, pointing to a still-favorable inflation outlook and supporting views that the Fed would cut interest rates again next month.

"After stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data and higher-than-expected inflation data, the market is a bit split on how many rate cuts we will see from the Fed over the coming months," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Data on Thursday showed U.S. consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September, but the annual increase in inflation was the smallest in more than 3-1/2 years.

Slowly cooling inflation and a U.S. job market that remains strong but at the risk of deteriorating give a green light for more interest-rate cuts in coming months, Fed policymakers indicated on Thursday.

The CME FedWatch tool shows markets currently see an 84.4% chance of a 25-basis-point rate reduction in November and a 15.6% probability of the Fed keeping rates on hold.

"Gold prices are likely to stay volatile in the short term, but we look for higher prices as we look for further rate cuts by the Fed," Staunovo said.

Gold is on track for its second straight week of declines after prices retreated from a record high of $2,685.42 hit last month.

Physical gold dealers in India charged premiums for the first time in two months this week as the upcoming festival season attracted some jewellery buying.

Spot silver rose 0.7% to $31.41 per ounce and platinum climbed 1.2% to $979.20. Both metals were headed for weekly declines.

Palladium firmed 0.2% at $1,071 and was up nearly 6% for the week.

(Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru additional reporting by Swati Verma; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Andrea Ricci)

In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.

Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.

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