Gold prices firm as dollar eases on cautious Fed speech
Gold prices firm as dollar eases on cautious Fed speech BENGALURU: Gold prices held firm on Thursday after notching up their biggest daily percentage gain in nearly two weeks in the previous session, with the dollar easing on dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. FUNDAMENTALS Spot gold had inched up 0.1 percent to $1,221.73 per ounce by 0127 GMT. Prices gained about 0.6 percent on Wednesday, their biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 16. US gold futures were down 0.2 percent at $1,221.6 per ounce. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, slipped about 0.6 percent on Wednesday, its steepest percentage decline since Nov. 1. Powell injected investors with a strong dose of optimism on Wednesday, saying that the central bank's policy rate is now "just below" estimates of a level that neither brakes nor boosts a healthy US economy, comments that many in...