The precious metal continues to appreciate, having established new historic highs by reaching $2,265.73 per ounce this Monday. In March alone, it gained more than 9%.
O gold climbs more than 1% this Monday, driven by the prospects that the North American Federal Reserve (Fed) is closer to starting to cut interest rates.
Expectations increased after the release of the price index for household consumption expenditure (PCE), released on Thursday. The indicator accelerated slightly to 2.5% compared to February of the previous year and, in In monthly terms, the increase was 0.3%, below the 0.4% in January. In both cases, it remained in line with market expectations.
In the first session in which investors react to the February PCE, as well as statements by Jerome Powell, president of the Fed, the gold rises 1.36% to $2,260.16 per ounce. This is after reaching $2,265.73 per ounce during the morning, establishing a new historic high.
The president of the US central bank said that the indicator was “in line with the expectations” of the monetary authority and, despite having signaled that the relief in inflation is not yet enough to cut interest rates, optimism remained.
The precious metal has benefited from a series of developments in recent months. In March alone it gained more than 9%, riding on the prospects of an easing of monetary policy and a worsening of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Gold has also benefited from strong purchases by central banks, especially in China, where consumers have reinforced their investment in the raw material.
“Inflation data, and Powell’s comments in particular, have given gold a boost as the market becomes increasingly convinced that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates in June,” said Warren Patterson, head of for the strategy for “commodities” at ING Groep, in statements to Bloomberg.
