Gold rises slightly as US dollar softens

Gold prices saw a marginal hike today, Dec. 29, amid a weakening US dollar as Treasury bond yields declined to a 10-year low.

Gold futures for February delivery rose slightly by 0.1% to $1,817.5 an ounce at 12:41 pm Makkah time, in tandem with a 0.33% gain in spot prices to $1,810.28 per ounce.

Silver futures for March delivery settled at $23.89 an ounce, while the spot price of platinum expanded by 0.5% to $1,016.29 per ounce.

The spot price of palladium, on the other hand, plunged 0.9% to $1,767.5 an ounce.

This came after prices of the precious metal hit their highest level in six weeks in the preceding session. However, they are seemingly headed for an annual loss of about 1%, pressured by the Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy.

The US weekly jobless claims data, which is projected to advance to 225,000, is set to be out later today. The reading may provide clues about the nation’s labor market stance.