Gold scales 1-year peak as slowdown worries mount
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Safe-haven gold extended gains and scaled a one-year peak on Wednesday as recent U.S. economic data fanned fears of a slowdown and spurred bets the Federal Reserve may ease up on rate hikes.
Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,024.69 per ounce by 10:09 a.m. EDT (1409 GMT), while U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,040.90.
Gold raced past the key $2,000 level on Tuesday after a sharp drop in U.S. job openings in February, adding on to gains from earlier this week after an OPEC-led spike in oil triggered worries of another run higher in inflation. [O/R]
Softer-than-expected growth in private payrolls in March also exacerbated worries over the economic toll from the Fed's rapid rate hikes. Bullion found additional support from a subdued dollar overall, and a retreat in U.S. yields. [USD/][US/]
"That downbeat economic data we got yesterday put a little risk aversion back into the marketplace and that's beneficial for safe-haven gold," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals.
Traders now see a 60% chance of U.S. rate hikes pausing in May, brightening the outlook for zero-yield gold and also its status as the preferred inflation hedge.
"The mood in the gold market has improved massively" since the US banking turmoil as indicated by the return of speculative short-term traders and trend followers, Carsten Menke, head of Next Generation Research at Julius Baer, wrote in a note.
However, Menke reiterated a cautious view on gold, reasoning a U.S. recession may still be avoided while a "rapid reversal" of Fed policy was unlikely.
The U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday could provide further cues, although analysts said market reaction may be apparent only next week due to the Good Friday holiday.
Silver shed 0.7% to $24.84 per ounce, platinum lost 0.4% to $1,012.67 while palladium slipped 0.1% to $1,455.56.
