Gold up as early tapering hopes dashed

Gold rose on Monday in Asia, reaching an almost two-week peak as the dollar weakened and offset bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve could start asset tapering soon.

Gold futures added 0.15% to $1,761 by 10:21 PM ET (2:21 AM GMT) after climbing to $1,765.54, their highest level since September 23. The dollar, typically moving inversely to gold, crept down to its lowest level since September 29.

Philadelphia Fed Bank President Patrick Harker remarked that the Central Bank could be close to meeting the inflation mandate set for increasing interest rates. However, it could take a year or longer before the Fed’s employment goal is satisfied to allow raising interest rates.

SPDR Gold Trust holdings edged down 0.4% to 986.54 tons on Friday, while U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on the same day showed speculators cutting net long positions by 19,471 contracts to 42,123 in the week to September 28.

In China, demand for physical gold went up among top consumers in the previous week while activity also increased in other Asian hubs, including Singapore.

In other precious metals, silver and platinum rose 0.4%, while palladium gained 0.1%.