Gold prices surge on US dollar’s decline

Gold prices soared for a third straight session today, Aug. 25, supported by the drop in the main dollar index, with investors awaiting US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement at the Jackson Hole meeting tomorrow, Aug. 26.

Gold futures for December delivery gained 0.85% to $1,776.4 an ounce at 11:36 am Makkah time. Similarly, spot prices rose 0.78% to $1,764.78 per ounce.

Silver futures for September delivery also surged by 1.67% to $19.29 an ounce. Likewise. The spot price for platinum increased 0.96% to $888.6 per ounce, with the spot price of palladium also up 1.7% to $2,073.04 per ounce.

Meanwhile, the main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, shed 0.39% to 108,256 points.

Investors are watching for signals on the outlook for monetary policy and the US central bank's view on the economy at tomorrow's conference after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 225 basis points (bps) in total since March to curb inflation.

Q2 2022 GDP data is expected later today, which may show an economic contraction of 0.7%. Markets are also anticipating the release of data on last week’s US jobless claims, which are set to come in at 250,000.