Gold Hits Two-week High after Fed Chief’s Rate Statements

Gold prices climbed to a two-week high on Thursday as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to cutting interest rates as early as September. Spot gold was steady at $2,448.38 per ounce, after hitting its highest level since July 18 earlier in the session. Prices were just about $35 shy of the record high of $2483.60 scaled on July 17. US gold futures firmed 0.8% to $2,492.50. Spot silver fell 0.3% to $28.94 per ounce, platinum lost 0.3% to $973.65 and palladium was flat at $925.16. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday rates could be cut as soon as September if the US economy follows its expected path, putting the central bank near the end of a more than two-year battle against inflation but square in the middle of the nation's presidential election campaign. Source: Qatar News Agency