PRECIOUS-Gold gains on dip-buying; investors await US inflation data

Analysts at ANZ on Friday raised their gold forecasts to $5,800/oz from $5,400 ⁠for ​the second quarter, noting that the metal remains an insurance asset against a plethora of uncertainties. Investors are now looking out for the Consumer Price Index data, due later on Friday, to gauge the health of the labor market and ⁠the prospects of further rate cuts this year.

Gold rose on Friday, regaining ground after Thursday's near one-week low, as bargain-hunters stepped in, with investors keeping an eye on key U.S. inflation data due later ‌in the day for cues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. Spot gold was up 0.7% at $4,951.90 per ounce as of 1158 GMT, but is down 0.1% so far this week. U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.5% to $4,971.70 per ounce.

"Dip-buying ‌by market participants in Asia, where demand for gold has been particularly strong, appears to be driving the rebound ‌in gold prices," said Hamad Hussain, a climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics. China's gold market saw robust demand heading into the Lunar New Year holiday, while in India, gold flipped to a discount this week for the first time in a month as softer demand amid volatile prices ⁠deterred ​buyers.

Gold slumped about 3% on ⁠Thursday, falling to its lowest in nearly a week, as strong U.S. jobs data dampened hopes of near-term Fed rate cuts. A break below $5,000 ⁠per ounce deepened losses, as selling pressure intensified. Data on Wednesday showed the United States added 130,000 jobs in January, compared to analysts' ​estimates of 70,000.

However, "the moves seem to be irrespective of what the market fundamentals are, not because of them, ⁠and the market fundamentals across the (precious metals) complex remain positive," said independent analyst Ross Norman. Analysts at ANZ on Friday raised their gold forecasts to $5,800/oz from $5,400 ⁠for ​the second quarter, noting that the metal remains an insurance asset against a plethora of uncertainties.

Investors are now looking out for the Consumer Price Index data, due later on Friday, to gauge the health of the labor market and ⁠the prospects of further rate cuts this year. Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in low-interest-rate environments. Spot silver climbed 2.7% ⁠to $77.18 per ounce, snapping back from ⁠an 11% decline in the previous session. It was on track for a weekly loss of 0.8%.

Spot platinum edged 0.3% higher to $2,008.96 per ounce and palladium was up 1.1% ‌at $1,633.75. Both metals were ‌set to notch weekly losses.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)