FX.co ★ Gold Holds Firm on Tame US Inflation Data

Gold held above $4,400 an ounce on Thursday, hovering near a ten-week high, as steadier US consumer inflation eased immediate pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Data released Wednesday showed US consumer inflation slowed for a second straight month to 3.4% in July, with prices rising just 0.1% from the previous month. Investors are now awaiting producer price data due later in the global session for further insight into the path of inflation. Markets currently assign roughly a 40% probability to a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Fed in September, down from nearly 50% the day before. Gold also found support from a retreat in oil prices as investors weighed the chances of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Still, increasingly heated rhetoric between the US and Iran, alongside stalled negotiations, has diminished the likelihood of a near-term agreement.