Overview
- Following Wednesday’s US July consumer price report, which showed annual inflation at 3.4% and core CPI at 2.5%, markets cut the chance of a September Fed rate hike and pushed spot gold above $4,400 per ounce.
- Domestic prices in South Asia climbed to multi‑week highs, with Indian 24K retail gold near Rs1.57–1.59 lakh per 10 grams and Pakistan’s per‑tola rate touching about Rs463,936 before local profit‑taking emerged.
- The rally was driven by flows into ETFs, continued central‑bank and wholesale buying, and technical strength that saw gold breach its 100‑day moving average and reach a two‑month peak.
- Traders later secured gains and reassessed yields and dollar moves, producing a modest international pullback to the $4,380s per ounce and local corrections in several markets.
- Investors will watch US producer prices, upcoming labour data and Fed speeches for fresh rate clues while consumers face higher retail bills because dealer premiums, making charges and taxes keep local prices above the spot benchmark.