Gold prices rise, holding record highs in sight as inflation test nears By Investing.com

Investing.com – Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Thursday, staying near record highs as the dollar's recovery weakened ahead of key inflation data that is likely to influence the outlook for interest rate cuts.

Some safe-haven demand also supported precious metal prices, especially after some disappointing earnings from stock market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) shook global equity markets.

rose 0.4% to $2,515.76 an ounce, while December expiring grades rose 0.4% to $2,515.91 an ounce by 00:50 ET (04:50 GMT).

Gold remains near record high ahead of inflation and GDP

Spot prices were less than $20 below the record high of $2,532.05 an ounce reached last week.

Although the yellow metal has struggled to reach new highs since then, it has remained relatively in demand as belief grows that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September – a scenario that benefits gold. A weaker price has also been beneficial for metals markets, although the greenback recovered sharply from its 13-month low this week.

Demand for safe-haven investments also contributed to the resilience of gold prices as tensions in the Middle East showed little sign of easing and the suspension of oil production in Libya added uncertainty.

Safe-haven trading was boosted by a decline in shares of market darling Nvidia, which led to losses in broader equity markets amid fears that trading in artificial intelligence was cooling.

But in the coming days, the focus was clearly on further economic data from the US. A revised set of data is expected later on Thursday after preliminary data last month showed that the economy remained strong in the second quarter.

Friday's data will be closely watched. It is the Fed's preferred inflation indicator and is likely to influence expectations for rate cuts.

The markets are reportedly divided as to whether interest rates should be cut by 25 or 50 basis points in September.

The prospect of lower interest rates weakened the dollar and boosted broader metals markets, although they mostly lagged gold, which rose 0.5 percent to $942.50 an ounce, while crude rose 0.8 percent to $29.858 an ounce.

Copper price stabilizes, sentiment in China remains weak

Among industrial metals, copper prices rose slightly on Thursday, even though the recovery rally of recent weeks appears to have dried up.

The benchmark on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.3 percent to $9,268.50 a tonne, while the one-month price rose 0.1 percent to $4.2190 a pound.

But the recent recovery in copper prices appears to be losing momentum, especially as sentiment toward the largest importer, China, continues to be dampened by fears of a renewed trade war with the West.

Nevertheless, the prospect of better economic growth at lower interest rates gave rise to some bets on rising global copper demand.