Gold rises on lower dollar, Fed rate hike uncertainty

 

Gold prices rose on Monday as the dollar fell on uncertainty about how soon the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates and worries about the global economy reduced investor appetite for risk.

Spot gold rose to a near four-week high of $1,237.30 an ounce and was trading up 0.4 percent at $1,227.75 at 1353 GMT. It posted its biggest weekly gain in four months last week, up 2.7 percent. U.S. gold futures hit their highest since Sept. 17 at $1,238 an ounce earlier.

The metal has rebounded four percent from a 15-month low of $1,183.46 hit last week after strong U.S. jobs data fuelled talk that U.S. interest rates could rise sooner rather than later.

But dovish-leaning minutes of the Federal Reserve's September meeting prompted the market to push back the expected timing of an interest rate hike.

According to Reuters, Gold's gains were helped by a lower dollar after Fed officials warned at the weekend that if the global recovery stumbled, it could delay an increase in U.S. interest rates.