LONDON: Gold rose more than one per cent to a near three-week high on Wednesday, bolstered by a weaker dollar on declining expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates any time soon.
Spot gold rose 1.3pc to $1,258.66 an ounce earlier, its strongest since May 20 and was up 1.1pc at $1,258.13 by 1306 GMT. US gold climbed 1.4pc to $1,261.60.
Gold’s gains lifted the rest of the precious metals, with silver hitting $17 an ounce for the first time in three weeks, up 4pc. Palladium also touched a three-week high at $586.61, while platinum marked its highest in two weeks at $1,019.58 an ounce.
The world’s biggest consumer of the yellow metal, China, kept its gold reserves unchanged, at 58.14 million ounces at the end of May, the central bank said on Tuesday.
Analysts, however, said China still has enormous US dollar holdings and is likely to keep purchasing gold in order to diversify its forex reserves, which should serve as a supportive factor for the metal.
