*
U.S. job openings under 10 million, factory orders slow in
Feb.
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Gold, silver scale one-year peaks
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Dollar dips 0.5%, hits two-month low
(Updates prices)
By Deep Kaushik Vakil
April 4 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains on Tuesday and
crossed the key $2,000 level as the dollar and yields fell,
while weaker U.S. economic data emboldened bets for slower rate
hikes despite mounting concerns over oil-led inflation.
Spot gold was up 1.7% at $2,017.92 per ounce by 2:00
p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), after reaching its highest since March 9
last year at $2,024.89 earlier. U.S. gold futures settled
1.9% higher at $2,038.20.
Tracking gold's gains, silver jumped 3.8% to $24.91
per ounce, platinum rose 3.3% to $1,017.91, while
palladium was up 0.3% at $1,456.05.
"We're in this very positive backdrop for gold in which we
have the slowing of economic data along with inflationary
pressures remaining elevated," said David Meger, director of
metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Burnishing gold's appeal, especially among traders holding
other currencies, the dollar added to its losses after data
showed U.S. job openings in February dropped to a near two-year
low, while factory orders also dipped. A surge in oil prices this week after a surprise output cut
by OPEC+ has helped the zero-yield gold, traditionally
considered the preferred inflation hedge, shake off the usual
pressure from the likelihood of interest rate hikes that could
be implemented to rein in rising price pressures. "From a technical perspective, the gold price is likely to
remain strong and stabilize at its current level or even higher.
The $2,050-mark could act as an important resistance level, and
if breached, prices could quickly soar towards its all-time
high," said Alexander Zumpfe, a precious metals dealer at
Heraeus.
Markets now see about a 43% chance of the Federal Reserve
hiking rates by a quarter basis point in May, with a roughly 57%
chance of a pause.
But Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity, said more rate
hikes could cause gold to unwind some of its recent gains.
(Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru, additional reporting by
Seher Dareen and Arpan Varghese; Editing by Rashmi Aich and
Shilpi Majumdar)
