By Brijesh Patel
Oct 12 – The price of gold rose on Wednesday helped by a slight retreat from the dollar, as investors await the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s September monetary policy meeting and inflation data for clues on the path of interest rate hikes.
* At 0908 GMTSpot gold was up 0.2% at $1,668.40 an ounce after falling for five straight sessions. US gold futures were down 0.6% at $1,675.50.
* The dollar was down 0.1% against a basket of six major currencies, making bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.
* “There are some who buy gold because they see that the dollar is slowing slightly. However, the market is now in a state of waiting ahead of the Fed minutes and inflation report,” said Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at Kinesis Money.
* “Inflation data is very crucial because it is the first thing the Fed looks at to decide the next steps of monetary policy,” he added.
* The minutes of the last Fed meeting will be published at 1800 GMT and data on the US Consumer Price Index will be released on Thursday, which is expected to remain stubbornly high.
* The US central bank has hiked rates aggressively since March to curb runaway inflation, which has also weighed on gold’s appeal as higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing bullion.
* In other precious metals, spot silver was down 0.1% at $19.18 an ounce; platinum was up 0.7% at $891.64; and palladium was up 0.6% at $2,153.55.