Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Gold held near a two-week low as prospects for an increase in U.S. interest rates boosted the dollar, curbing demand for the metal as an alternative asset.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,188.88 an ounce at 2:35 p.m. in Singapore from $1,188.09 on Wednesday, when the price fell to $1,183.82, the lowest level since May 12, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. In May, it’s little changed as two weeks of losses followed two weeks of gains. Prices in Shanghai are declining for a fifth day.

Gold pared year-to-date gains to just 0.3 percent on expectations the Federal Reserve will raise rates this year for the first time since 2006. Data on Thursday may show initial jobless claims fell last week, supporting the case for higher borrowing costs as the world’s largest economy improves. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback versus 10 major peers, was little changed on Thursday after rising the past four days to the highest level in a month.

The dollar’s “direction will be an important factor in gold’s near-term direction,” James Steel, an analyst at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., wrote. Bullion may stay weak in the near term, with the next psychological support at $1,180, he said. Support levels are typically marked by clusters of buy orders.

Gold for August delivery climbed 0.2 percent to $1,189.40 on the Comex in New York. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity fell 0.2 percent to 237.28 yuan a gram ($1,190.63 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $16.7068 an ounce, set for 3.4 percent increase this month. Platinum traded at $1,121.83 an ounce from $1,118.75 on Wednesday, heading for the third monthly loss in four. Palladium was little changed at $786.51 an ounce, poised for a second monthly increase.