Gold rises ahead of Fed’s preferred inflation gauge

Gold bars

Gold prices rose on Thursday as the US dollar index declined after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, while investors await the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge tomorrow, Jan. 31.

The most actively traded gold futures contract for April delivery rose 0.44% (or $12.4) to $2,805.90 per ounce as of 10:54 am KSA time.

Spot gold also rose 0.39% to $2,768.55 per ounce, while March silver futures gained 1.38% to $31.825 per ounce. Additionally, spot platinum increased 0.87% to $958.45 per ounce.

This was supported by a slight decline in the U.S. dollar index—which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies—by 0.11% to 107.87 points.

The Fed kept its key interest rate within the 4.25%–4.5% range on Jan. 29, citing persistent inflation risks.

Investors now await the release of the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index—the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, with expectations for a 0.2% month-over-month increase in December, following a 0.1% rise in November.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) is set to meet today to decide on interest rates in the eurozone, with projections suggesting a fifth rate cut since the beginning of monetary easing in June.