Gold set for first weekly gain in three on Fed pause bets -November 16, 2023 at 08:28 pm EST

Nov 17 (Reuters) – Gold prices rose slightly on Friday,
on track for their first weekly gain in three, as investors grew
confident that the U.S. Federal Reserve is done raising interest
rates, sending the dollar and Treasury yields lower.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,984.26 per ounce, as of
0059 GMT, after hitting its highest since Nov. 6 in the last
session. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,987.

* Bullion is up 2.5% so far this week.

* The dollar was on track for a weekly drop, making
gold less expensive for buyers holding other currencies, while
yields on 10-year Treasury notes hovered near
two-month lows.

* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
benefits increased more than expected last week, which could
help the Fed’s fight against inflation.

* On Tuesday, data showed U.S. headline consumer prices were
flat in October, against expectations for a 0.1% rise. Core CPI,
at 0.2%, came in below a forecast of 0.3%.

* The slowing jobs market and weaker-than-expected consumer
inflation data prompted market participants to revise their
forecasts for future Fed action.

* Traders now widely expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged
at its Dec. 12-13 policy meeting, according to the CME FedWatch
tool.

* Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of
holding gold.

* Spot silver rose 0.6% to $23.83 per ounce, while
platinum was flat at $892.58. Palladium eased 0.2%
to $1,035.77 per ounce.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Retail Sales MM Oct
0700 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM Oct
0700 UK Retail Sales YY Oct
1000 EU HICP Final MM Oct
1000 EU HICP Final YY Oct
1330 US Housing Starts Number Oct
1315 Bank of England interest-rate setter Megan Greene
speaks in a panel discussion about the outlook for monetary
policy
0830 Keynote speech by ECB President Christine Lagarde at
the 33rd Frankfurt European Banking Congress
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)