Gold climbs on Fed rate cut bets

Gold prices edged higher in Asian trade on Thursday early trade close to record highs due to softer-than-expected US consumer inflation data, leading to speculation that the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates.

Spot gold rose 0.2 per cent to $2,452.56 an ounce, while gold futures gained 0.4 per cent to $2,490.40 an ounce.

Other precious metals also saw increases, with platinum futures up 0.5 per cent to $935.65 an ounce and silver futures rising 1.6 per cent to $27.773 an ounce.

In the industrial metals market, copper prices rose amid mixed economic data from China. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.5 per cent to $8,991.50 a ton.

Attribution: Investing.com

Subediting: M. S. Salama