June 12, 2023: On Friday, Gold eased as a stronger dollar weighed but held close to its last session’s highs en route to a weekly gain on bets that the Federal Reserve could soon pause good rate hikes.

Spot gold dropped 0.2% to $1,963.19 per ounce. But it is bossed for a 0.8% weekly promotion, helped by about a 1.5% increase after a surge in U.S. weekly unemployed shares on Thursday.

U.S. gold futures declined 0.1% to $1,979.60. The dollar index gained but hovered near lows on Thursday. A stronger dollar pushes gold costlier for overseas buyers.

The market is still looking for a hedge against an economic slowdown, providing some underlying license to gold, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

“For now, there are no clear signals, but we’ve seen a decent bounce this week and found support in the low $1,930s,” Hansen added.

Higher prices increase the chance cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Focus now shifts to the U.S. consumer inflation report for May, due on June 13, a day before the Fed announces its policy decision.

Inflation was seen to be framed lower, up 0.2% in May after having increased by 0.4% in April every month.

Markets are putting prices in a 74% probability of the Fed standing pat next week after having raised rates at every meeting since March 2022, while the odds of a 25 bps hike in July are 52%, the CME Fedwatch tool showed.

“We are still confident that good rates have already peaked and that the market will correct its overly hawkish positioning in due course,” Commerzbank stated in a note.

“Against this backdrop, we envisage higher gold costs in the medium term.”

Palladium, used in car emissions-controlling devices, touched its lowest since June 2019, hovering at $1,327.

Silver was little modified at $24.24 per ounce and eyed its best week since early April. Platinum dropped 1% to $999.99, heading for its third weekly decline.