Gold prices continue to consolidate at lofty levels even as inflation remains a persistent threat to the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve’s plan to ease interest rates later this year.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.36 last month after January’s 0.3% increase, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The latest inflation data was hotter than expected as economists looked for a 0.3% increase.
The report said that in the last 12 months, headline inflation rose 1.6%. The report said this is “the largest rise since moving up 1.8 percent for the 12 months ended September 2023.”
Meanwhile, core PPI rose 0.3% in February, following January’s 0.5% increase. Core inflation also rose more than expected as consensus forecasts called for an 0.2% increase.
For the year, core inflation is up 2.0%, unchanged from January.
Although inflation has come in hotter than expected, the gold market is not seeing any significant rise in selling pressure as prices consolidate. April gold futures last traded at $2,170 an ounce, down 0.45% on the day.
Source: Neils Christensen Kitco
