LONDON: Gold hit a three-month high, rising for a fifth session, as a run of soft US data supported expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off raising interest rates for the time being.
Spot prices rose 3 percent last week, their biggest weekly climb in four months, after recent downbeat readings of the US jobs market, retail sales and consumer sentiment led analysts to conclude that an imminent rate increase was unlikely.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,223.60 an ounce at 1352 GMT, while US gold futures for June delivery were down $2.20 an ounce at $1,223.10.
Gold hit a peak at $1,232.20, its highest since mid February, earlier in the day, but pared gains as the dollar rose nearly 1 percent against the euro, rebounding from last week’s near four-month low.
Silver was up 0.4 percent at $17.57 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.3 percent at $1,166.74 an ounce and palladium XPD= was up 0.4 percent at $793.70 an ounce.
As the annual industry gathering Platinum Week began in London, the World Platinum Investment Council said in a report it expected the platinum market deficit to shrink this year.
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