Gold rallies at settlement; palladium dips below $1,000 for 1st time in 5 years

Gold prices turned higher at settlement today, Nov. 9, after two Federal Reserve officials suggested a further slowdown in the US economy, with the full impact of past interest rate hikes still being felt, raising expectations that there is no need for further monetary tightening.

Bullion for December delivery increased 0.60%, or $12, to finish at $1,969.80 per ounce, after touching $1,948.30 an ounce in early trading.

On the other hand, the US dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, settled at 105.63 points at 09:32 pm Makkah time.

Elsewhere, palladium futures contracts for December delivery slumped at the end of trading by 4.85%, or $51.30, to end at $1,009.10 per ounce, after hitting $995 during the session, marking the first time since 2018 that the vital metal for the automobile industry falls below the $1,000/ounce level, Reuters reported.

Traders are pricing in a 90.5% chance that the Fed will keep its current monetary policy unchanged at the forthcoming rate-setting committee meeting in December, compared to 80.2% a week ago, the CME FedWatch Tool showed.