Gold Edges Down as the U.S. Dollar Rises After a U.S. Inflation Measure Eased, Even As the Q1 GDP Growth Forecast Was Slashed

09:21 AM EDT, 03/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Gold edged lower early Friday, remaining largely rangebound as the U.S. dollar rose to a four-month high after a report showed a key U.S. inflation measure eased in January, while a first revision to U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product slashed estimated growth in the period.

Gold for April delivery was last seen down US$6.00 to US$5,119.80 per ounce.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday reported the January Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE), the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, rose by 0.3% from the prior month, down from 0.4% in December and matching expectations, according to Marketwatch. Core PCE, excluding volatile items, rose by 0.4% monthly, unchanged from the prior month and also matching expectations.

But the bureau also released its first revision to first-quarter GDP, downgrading its original 1.4% estimate to 0.7%, well below expectations for the report to show growth of 1.5%.

Slowing growth and easing inflation, along with a weakening U.S. labor market, may clear the way for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates when the two-day end to the meeting of its policy committee ends next Wednesday. However the CME FedWatch Tool sees a 99.3% probability the central bank will leave rates unchanged.

The dollar rose to the highest since Nov.24 following the data, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.29 points to 100.03. Treasury yields fell, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 3.717%, down 2.8 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 1.5 points to 4.254%.

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