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Gold buoyed by banking system stresses
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Market awaits U.S. GDP and jobs data
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U.S. debt ceiling decision raises risk-aversion -analyst
(Updates prices)
By Ashitha Shivaprasad
April 27 (Reuters) - Prices of safe-haven gold rose on
Thursday as economic worries returned to the fore and traders
awaited U.S. data for hints on the Federal Reserve's policy
trajectory.
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $2,000.43 an ounce by
1024 GMT and U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to $2,007.60.
Continued stresses in the banking system are helping gold prices, said StoneX analyst Rhona O'Conell, adding that a decision to raise the U.S. debt ceiling has also created risk-aversion in the market.
U.S. government officials are so far unwilling to intervene in the First Republic Bank's rescue process and the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to raise the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. "All the current elements of uncertainty are supportive for gold. If they are resolved then a record high for gold is not in sight. But bank stresses do tend to linger and that points to fresh highs," O'Conell added.
Bullion scaled a more than one-year peak at $2,048.71 in mid-April as the U.S. banking crisis unfolded. Markets are mostly expecting the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its May 2-3 meeting. Firmer interest rates work against gold because it is not an interest-bearing asset; but on the flip side, higher rates can work in gold's favour because they increase the chance of another banking sector crisis, said independent analyst Ross Norman. Investors will also keep an eye on the U.S. quarterly GDP figures and weekly jobless claims due at 1230 GMT, followed by the core personal consumption expenditures index on Friday.
Spot silver rose 0.7% to $25.06 an ounce,
platinum added 0.4% to $1,094.19 and palladium was
up 0.1% at $1,513.90.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by
David Goodman and Sohini Goswami)
