US Inflation Makes Gold Prices Fall 0.67 Percent

Gold (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Gold prices slipped again at the end of trading Friday (Saturday morning WIB). The most active gold contract for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Exchange fell 12.50 US dollars or 0.67 percent to close at 1,866.10 US dollars per ounce, after trading touching a session high of 1,896.70 US dollars and a low of 1,862.30 US dollars.

Gold futures slipped 12.30 US dollars or 0.65 percent to 1,878.60 US dollars on Thursday, September 28, after falling 28.90 US dollars or 1.51 percent to 1,890.90 US dollars on Wednesday, September 27, and cut 16.80 US dollars or 0.87 percent to 1,919.80 US dollars on Tuesday, September 26.

Benchmark US gold futures slumped 4.0 percent for the week, the biggest weekly drop since a nearly 6.0 percent drop for the week to June 11, 2021.

For the third quarter, Comex gold's decline was about 3.0 percent, after declines of 2.0 percent in August and 5.0 percent in September that offset July's rise of 4.0 percent. In the second quarter, gold futures fell nearly 4.0 percent.

Gold's decline extended losses to a fifth straight session, as better-than-expected US inflation data for August raised expectations that the Federal Reserve might keep interest rates on hold at its November policy meeting.

The US Department of Commerce reported on Friday, September 29, that the US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, increased by 0.1 percent in August and fell to an annual increase of 3.9 percent, continuing its decline. stable since April.

Better-than-expected inflation data raised market expectations that the US central bank will keep interest rates higher for longer, weakening gold prices.

Other economic data released Friday, September 29 provided support for gold. The Consumer Sentiment Index released by the University of Michigan (UM) Consumer Survey fell to 68.1 in the September 2023 survey, down from 69.5 in August but above 58.6 last September.

Quoted from ANTARA, the Chicago Business Barometer, also known as PMI Chicago, was recorded at 44.1 in September, the first decline in three months. Economists predicted a figure of 47.

Another precious metal, silver for December delivery fell 29.10 cents or 1.28 percent, to close at 22.45 US dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery rose 80 cents, or 0.09 percent, to settle at 915.90 US dollars per ounce.