Gold Climbs Amid Sliding Dollar, Yields

(RTTNews) - Gold prices rose sharply on Thursday as oil prices retreated and a global bond selloff paused following Wednesday's hawkish Fed hike.

Spot gold jumped 1.1 percent to $4,309.27 an ounce after touching a six-week low earlier. U.S. gold futures, however, were down 0.9 percent at $4,348.67.

Brent crude futures fell toward $104 a barrel, extending losses from the previous session as reports of additional Saudi crude cargoes through Oman helped ease supply concerns.

The U.S. dollar index weakened after hitting a fresh seven-week high earlier as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years and signaled more increases to curb persistent inflation.

Treasury yields edged lower, reflecting markets' increased trust in the Federal Reserve's resolve to bring inflation under control.

As Fed officials shift focus to broader and more persistent inflation pressures, traders have increased bets the Fed will keep raising rates, with at least one more increase predicted this year.

According to forecasts published after the meeting, Fed officials expect the federal funds rate to end this year at 4.1 percent, up from the current range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent following the latest 25-bps increase.

According to data from CME Group, investors currently bet on a 38 percent probability the Fed could hike the federal funds rate to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.40 percent by the end of the year.

Investor attention is now heavily focused on upcoming U.S. inflation and labor-market data ahead of the October meeting.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England is anticipated to maintain interest rates at 3.75 percent later in the day, despite rising inflation in the U.K.

The Bank of Japan's monetary policy announcement is due on Friday, with the central bank widely expected to raise interest rates.