Gold prices log three-month winning streak

Gold prices eked out gains at settlement today, Jan. 31, as traders awaited the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision later this week.

The yellow metal turned positive in late-day dealings after losses earlier in the session. This is amid expectations around slower interest rate hikes from the Fed, which is set to head for a 25-basis-point (bp) increase tomorrow, Feb. 1, following a 50-bp rise in December 2022.

In 2022, a record pick-up in global central-bank buying pushed the world’s gold demand to its highest level since 2011.

In terms of trading, a 0.3% surge in gold prices for April delivery took the yellow metal to $1,945.30 per ounce at settlement of today’s session, reversing losses of $1,915 during trading.

For this January, in total, the most active futures contract of the greenback-priced bullion advanced 6.9%, cementing its third consecutive monthly gain.

On the other hand, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, contracted by 0.2% to 102.024 points at 09:50 pm Makkah time.