Investing.com – Gold prices were modestly higher as U.S bond yields fell and the dollar was on track to snap a three-week winning streak but traders remained cautious on the yellow metal ahead of a widely expected U.S. rate hike next week.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex divisiSon of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $1.40 or 0.11%, to $1,302.90 a troy ounce.
The ongoing slump in dollar index placed the greenback on track to post a weekly loss for the first time in four weeks, supporting gold prices despite investor expectations the Federal Reserve will hike rates at its meeting next week and reveal a more aggressive path for further monetary policy tightening.
Renewed expectations for a faster pace of rate hikes come on the back of a string of bullish U.S. economy data, strengthening investor expectations the U.S. economy was on a solid footing.
According to investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, 36.4% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to hike rates for a fourth time at its December meeting, up from 29.6% last week.
In a rising interest rate environment, investor appetite for gold weakens as the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal increases relative to other interest-bearing assets such as bonds.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 0.34% to $16.75 a troy ounce, while platinum futures fell 0.84% to $900.00 an ounce.
Copper rose 0.21% to $3.27.