Gold rallies to four-week high as US yields, dollar slip

Aug 2 (Reuters) – Gold prices notched a four-week high on Tuesday and extended their winning streak to a fifth session, as a dip in the US dollar and Treasury yields boosted demand for the safe-haven metal amid heightened worries over a global economic slowdown.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at USD 1,774.38 per ounce, as of 0402 GMT, after hitting its highest since July 5 at USD 1,780.39 earlier in the session.

US gold futures gained 0.2% to USD 1,790.80 per ounce.

The dollar weakened 0.2% to a near one-month low against its rivals, making greenback-denominated gold less expensive for other currency holders.

Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields dropped to a four-month low, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.

“Gold could push a little higher towards mid USD 1,800 because the dollar will continue to weaken over the course of August as a lot of the macro numbers in the US are starting to look worse,” said Edward Meir, an analyst with ED&F Man Capital Markets.

“If things continue to deteriorate the Federal Reserve could maybe stop raising rates at some point to let the economy heal and more importantly, in Europe and China, we could start seeing some kind of stimulus spending.”

Factories across the United States, Europe and Asia had struggled for momentum last month, as flagging global demand and China’s strict COVID-19 restrictions slowed production, surveys showed on Monday.

The recent batch of weak US economic readings pointed to a slowdown that could prompt the Fed to be less aggressive in its monetary policy tightening plans.

Gold, which tends to appreciate on expectations of lower interest rates, has gained nearly USD 100 since falling on July 21 to its lowest level in more than one year.

Investors were also keeping watch on possible escalation in Sino-US tension with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi set to begin a visit to Taiwan amid objections from China.

Spot silver fell 0.6% to USD 20.22 per ounce, platinum was up 0.2% at USD 907.98, and palladium rose 0.3% to USD 2,199.67.

(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)