Gold rises as dollar softens

Gold prices rose from a one-week low on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar and soft U.S. employment numbers, as investors assessed the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December ahead of more delayed U.S. data releases this week.

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $4,059.39 per ounce, after hitting its lowest since November 10 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4% to $4,059.20 per ounce.

The dollar index fell 0.2%, making dollar-priced bullion affordable for holders of other currencies.

Data on Tuesday showed that the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits stood at a two-month high in mid-October, with continued claims for jobless benefits rising to 1.9 million in the week ended October 18.

″(The data) is slightly boosting market hopes for a December rate cut. This is helping gold and silver, which are trying to break a three-day losing streak,” said Tai Wong, an independent metals trader.

Markets now see a 50% chance for a rate cut at the December meeting, up from 46% earlier in the day, but lower than 67% last week, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Gold, a non-yielding asset, tends to do well when interest rates are lower. Prices fell over 3% on Friday and 1% on Monday as investors scaled back bets on another interest rate cut this year.

Markets now await minutes from the Fed’s last meeting, due on Wednesday, and September jobs data on Thursday, both delayed due to the U.S. government shutdown.

Elevated official demand for gold is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, “supporting a strategically bullish bias and upside to our average price forecast of USD 4,000/oz for next year,” analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note.