Gold prices hit record high as dollar recovers amid inflation watch By Investing.com

Investing.com– Gold prices edged lower in Asian trade on Wednesday as the dollar rebounded from 13-month lows, focusing on key upcoming inflation data for more interest rate cues.

But the yellow metal remained within sight of this month’s highs as geopolitical turmoil fueled some safe-haven demand, while the prospect of lower US interest rates also kept gold well-bid.

was down 0.5% at $2,512.88 an ounce, while December expiry was down 0.2% at $2,547.60 an ounce by 00:37 ET (04:37 GMT) . Spot prices hit a record high of $2,532. 05 an ounce last week.

Gold stalls as dollar recovers; PCE data on tap

The yellow metal has been knocked off record highs as the recovery from 13-month lows hit earlier this week.

But gold still held on to much of its gains, while the dollar’s recovery was limited amid persistent bets that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in September.

Favorable comments from Fed officials have promoted this notion in recent sessions, with traders split on a discount of 25 or 50 basis points.

The data – the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation – is due on Friday and is expected to provide more clues on the path to interest rates.

Lower rates bode well for gold as they lower the opportunity cost of investing in non-yielding assets. That notion also favored flows into other precious metals, although they have largely lagged behind gold’s gains over the past month.

fell 0.8% to $959.40 an ounce, while it fell 0.5% to $30.280 an ounce.

Copper pulls back as pullback stalls, China concerns grow

Among industrial metals, copper prices fell on Wednesday as a rally in the red metal cooled, with fresh concerns about top importer China further undermining prices.

The London Metal Exchange benchmark fell 0.6 percent to $9,370.50 a tonne, while on the month it fell 0.7 percent to $4.2715 a pound.

Copper prices rose sharply in the past month after recovering from multi-month lows hit in July amid lingering concerns about slowing demand.

Those concerns resurfaced this week after Canada imposed steep trade tariffs on China’s electric vehicle sector, drawing ire from Beijing.

Traders feared a renewed trade war between China and the West, which could further slow an economic recovery in China and hurt appetite for copper.

The EV sector is also a key source of copper demand.