Gold prices rally as silver jumps by over 2.5%

Gold bars

Gold prices edged up today, Aug. 15, compensating for some of the losses of the previous session, as investors await US retail sales data to obtain more information about the US economic performance and the prospect of monetary easing.

Bullion for December delivery turned higher by 0.56%, or $14, to $2,493.70 an ounce at 10:56 am Makkah time, with spot prices also up 0.33% to $2,455.92 per ounce.

Likewise, silver futures for September delivery spiked by 2.88% to $28.13 per ounce, in tandem with a 1.34% hike in platinum spot prices to $939.75 an ounce.

The most active gold contracts suffered a loss of more than 1% at the end of Wednesday’s session, after US data showed that the consumer price index added 0.2% on a monthly basis in July following a 0.1% slip in June.

Although annual inflation cooled at the slowest pace since March of 2021 to 2.9% in July, the monthly rebound in consumer prices dampened hopes for the Fed cutting interest by 50 basis points (bps) at next month’s meeting.

Instead, markets returned to favoring a 25-bp rate cut. IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said the prospects of less aggressive rate easing may have triggered some profit-taking in gold prices overnight, Reuters reported.

US retail sales data are scheduled to be released later today, along with the industrial production reading. Investors are closely monitoring this release for more clues about the country's economic activity.