Gold prices stabilize near 3-week high

Gold prices steadied today, Aug. 1, after recording their largest weekly gain since March, pressured by the rise in US Treasury yields, albeit remaining near their highest levels in three weeks.

Gold futures for December delivery settled at $1,781.20 an ounce at 11:18 PM Makkah time, while spot prices held ground at $1,765.11 per ounce — near its highest level since July 6.

Elsewhere, silver futures for September delivery reached $20.20 an ounce. The spot price for platinum, meanwhile, jumped 0.46% to $901.14, with the spot price of palladium also surging 0.19% to $2,132.61.

On the other hand, the main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, shed 0.13% to 105.69 points.

Prices of the precious metal rose 2.2% last week amid increasing odds that the Federal Reserve will reduce the pace of interest rate hikes as the US economy slows down. However, gold ended July lower for the fourth consecutive month as the US dollar continued to attract investments as a safe-haven option.

Investors' focus this week turns to the monthly US jobless claims report, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell saying last week that the labor market remains "too tight," citing a near-record number of job openings and historically low unemployment rates.