By 3 Min Read* Gold rises over 1% to a near three-week high* Silver rises to its highest level since June 17* The 10-year Treasury yield falls to its lowest level since June 21 (Updates prices, recasts, adds comments) Reuters, July 6 – On Tuesday, gold prices surpassed the critical $1,800 barrier as U.S. bond yields remained near a two-week low, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its most recent policy meeting to judge the future for interest rates in the United States. By 09:46 a.m. EDT (1346 GMT), spot gold had risen 1% to $1,808.81 per ounce, after hitting a high of $1,814.78 on June 17. Gold futures in the United States rose 1.5 percent to $1,809.30. “What we’ve seen in the last few days is central banks discounting the concept of hiking interest rates too soon,” said ThinkMarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada. Investors are aware that monetary policy will stay historically loose, which is one of the reasons why bond yields are falling, helping to stabilize gold prices following a dramatic drop in June, according to Razaqzada. The attention this week is on the minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting, which are coming out on Wednesday, following the central bank’s hawkish turn last month, when officials anticipated a start to rate hikes in 2023, driving gold prices below $1,800. After data on Friday indicated that U.S. companies employed the most workers in ten months in June, gold regained some ground. However, the unemployment rate moved upward. “Friday’s non-farm payroll statistics from the United States appeared to dampen expectations of an early move by the Federal Reserve,” said Sophie Griffiths, a market analyst at OANDA. “Will the minutes of the most recent Fed meeting swiftly overturn that thinking?” says the author. The opportunity cost of owning bullion, which pays no interest, rises as interest rates rise. Silver was up 0.1 percent at $26.47 per ounce, after reaching its highest level since June 17 at $26.76 per ounce. Palladium rose 1.3 percent to $2,850.24, while platinum rose 0.6 percent to $1,103.49. (Bengaluru reporters Swati Verma and Eileen Soreng contributed to this report; Andrea Ricci edited it.)/n
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