Gold gains on dollar retreat, focus on central bank cues

July 19 (Reuters) – Gold inched higher on Tuesday, helped by a pullback in the dollar, as investors braced for cues on the pace of interest rate hikes from major central banks this month.

Spot gold was up 0.1% at USD 1,710.13 per ounce by 2:12 p.m. EDT (1812 GMT). US gold futures settled mostly unchanged at USD 1,710.70.

The dollar index was down 0.7%, making bullion cheaper for overseas buyers.

“A pullback in the dollar is alleviating some of the pressure we have seen across the commodity complex and gold,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.

“As global central banks around the world begin to raise interest rates to stave off inflation. We see headwinds for non-interest bearing gold as investors opt for other asset classes, and this is the logic pressuring gold lately.”

In recent weeks, gold has not been able to live up to its safe-haven status despite recession worries. Bullion has declined more than USD 350 from the USD 2,000 an ounce level it scaled in early March, due to the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike plans and the dollar’s recent rally.

The Fed is scheduled to meet on July 26-27, when it is expected to raise rates by 75 bps.

Meanwhile, ECB policymakers will discuss whether to raise interest rates by 25 or 50 points at their meeting on Thursday to tame record-high inflation, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussion told Reuters.

“Silver is benefiting from a continued rise in Chinese interest for the white metal. However, reports that major Chinese banks will suspend investors from taking new positions in gold and silver by August are blurring the outlook for this signal,” TD Securities said in a note.

Spot silver rose 0.4% to USD 18.74 per ounce.

Platinum gained 1.1% to USD 871.97, while palladium added 1% to USD 1,872.66.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Krishna Chandra Eluri)