The decline of the dollar increases the attractiveness of the yellow metal (Shutterstock)
Gold prices rose today, Thursday, supported by the weakness of the dollar and escalating tensions in the Middle East, at a time when investors are awaiting more US economic data, which may provide indications of the next steps of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) regarding interest rates.
By 8:33 GMT, gold in spot transactions rose 0.36% to $2,033.3 per ounce, after yesterday, Wednesday, recording its highest levels since February 9.
US gold futures rose 0.45% to about $2,044 an ounce.
Israel intensified its bombing of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, while the Ministry of Health in the devastated Strip announced that more than 29,313 people had been killed in the war so far.
The dollar fell
The dollar index continued its losses for the fourth day in a row, which increases the attractiveness of the yellow metal priced in the US currency to buyers abroad.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US currency against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.54% to 103.45 points.
So far this week, it has lost more than 1% due to the global decline in bond yields earlier this week.
For major currencies:
The euro increased 0.45% to $1.0866.
The British pound gained 0.25%, rising to $1.2695.
The dollar fell against the yen by 0.04%, but returned to trading again above the 150 level, reaching 150.22 yen in the latest transactions.
The Australian dollar increased 0.56% to 0.6587 US dollars.
The New Zealand dollar rose to its highest level in a month at $0.6211.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting, which were released yesterday, Wednesday, reinforced the trend that the US central bank is in no hurry to lower interest rates.
Source: Reuters + websites