Gold ends at past $2,000 on inflation concerns

Gold prices closed at the highest level in more than a year today, April 3, on concerns about accelerating inflation after the OPEC+ decision to voluntarily reduce oil production.

Investors upped their forecast for the path of US interest rates this year, after OPEC+ announced a crude output cut by a total of 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) until 2023-end.

This, in turn, poses a risk of increasing oil prices and further elevated inflationary pressures.

Today's data revealed that the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) plunged in January to its lowest level in nearly three years.

In terms of trading, gold for June delivery gained 0.70%, or $14.20, to $2,000.40 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, plummeted 0.30% to 102.18 points at 9:00 pm Makkah time.