Gold futures climbed to $4,479.90. The dollar weakened ahead of the Fed's July minutes. Traders see a 67% chance of no rate hike in September.
Gold December futures opened at $4,391.40 per troy ounce Wednesday, down 0.7% from Tuesday's close, then climbed to $4,479.90 by 8:53 a.m. ET. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.2% and the 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.4%, pulling back from a 12-month high reached July 31.
The strength in gold comes a day before the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its July 30-31 meeting. The July meeting followed a soft June retail sales report and an escalation in the Middle East conflict, both of which complicate the rate outlook. CME FedWatch data shows a 67.4% probability that the Fed holds rates steady at its September meeting.
Gold has gained more than 10% over the past three weeks. Rate-hike expectations have declined over the same period. The one-year gain stood at 95.6% as of Jan. 29, according to data from the World Gold Council.
The iShares Gold Trust (IAU), the largest gold ETF by assets, has an Alpha Score of 32 out of 100, a weak reading that reflects the ETF's low volatility and limited upside momentum relative to the broader market. The Alpha Score is a proprietary measure of short-term price strength and trend consistency.
The FOMC minutes are due at 2 p.m. ET. The next day, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index and existing home sales data are due.
Prepared with AlphaScala editorial tooling from the source reporting linked above. Indexable analysis may include a cited Alpha Score value. Publishing checks screen each story before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.