Gold prices steady near 3-month high

Gold prices settled near three-month highs today, Nov. 15, supported by expectations of the Federal Reserve's direction to slow the pace of interest-rate hikes at its upcoming meetings.

Gold futures for December delivery settled at $1,775.40 an ounce at 10:29 am Makkah time, while spot prices grew 0.36% to $1,777.77 per ounce.

Silver futures for December delivery gained 0.66% to $22.25 an ounce, with the spot price of platinum up 1.08% to $1,028.50 per ounce. The spot price of palladium also advanced 1.17% to $2,049.68 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.53% to 106.37 points.

Financial markets are forecasting an 89% probability of a 50-basis-point (bp) interest-rate increase at the Fed’s December meeting, versus an 11% possibility of a 75-bp rise.

Gold prices soared by $150, or nearly 10%, since dropping to a one-month low earlier this November, according to Reuters data.

Data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed that speculators cut their net short positions on gold by 30,659 to 8,219 contracts during the week ended Nov. 8.