Nov 24, 2021 12:06AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
Gold prices rose in Asia on Wednesday morning as the dollar strengthened and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced a smaller rate hike than expected.
Gold futures rose 0.54% to $1,793.45 an ounce by 12:01 AM ET (5:01 AM GMT), but remained below the $1,800 mark. The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, rose slightly on Wednesday and remained near a 16-month high.
The RBNZ raised its interest rate to 0.75% and increased its forecast for the long-term cash rate by 50 basis points as it announced its policy decision earlier in the day.
Investors also expect newly appointed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to accelerate monetary tightening, including asset stripping and raising interest rates, to curb ever-rising inflation.
Across the Atlantic, the UK's manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 58.2 and services at 58.6 in October, and the better-than-expected data could pave the way for the Bank of England to raise interest rates in December.
In an indicator of sentiment, the SPDR Gold Trust reported that its holdings rose 0.6% to 991.11 tonnes on Tuesday from 985 tonnes on Monday.
In other precious metals, silver slipped 0.3%, while palladium rose 1.2%. Platinum rose 1.1% as the World Platinum Investment Council expects a larger-than-expected surplus in the global platinum market in 2021 and another large oversupply in 2022.