Gold futures trade a near 1-month high as U.S. dollar weakens

Price action

• Gold futures for August delivery 
  GC00,
  +0.12%

  GCQ23,
  +0.12%
  gained $2, or 0.1%, to $1,963.50 per ounce on Comex, with front-month prices trading at their highest levels since mid-June, according to FactSet data.

• Silver futures for September delivery
  SI00,
  +2.37%

  SIU23,
  +2.37%
  gained 49 cents, or 2%, to $24.80 per ounce, trading at the highest since May 11.

• Palladium futures for September
  PAU23,
  -0.22%
  increased by $11.20, or 0.9%, to $1,291 per ounce, while platinum futures for October
  PLV23,
  +2.54%
  gained $24, or 2.5%, to $980.70 per ounce.

• Copper futures for September
  HGU23,
  +2.12%
  gained 7.5 cents, or 2%, to $3.9285 per pound.

Market drivers

U.S. wholesale prices rose by 0.1% in June, the government reported Thursday. That’s less than the 0.2% increase forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

The data followed a modest 0.2% rise in June for the U.S. consumer price index, with the yearly rate of inflation slowing to 3% from 4%.

Read: Fed’s Williams says economy won’t hit its weakest point until next year

U.S. consumer price inflation fell to its lowest level since 2021, allowing Treasury yields to fall sharply. Investors immediately heralded the report as a game changer that bolstered expectations that the Fed might only deliver one more interest-rate hike in July before leaving rates on hold until some time next year.

“A tame U.S. inflation report has the marketplace thinking the Federal Reserve may be about done raising interest rates. That’s bullish for commodity markets, including the metals,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.

Metals prices received another boost from a sharply weaker U.S. dollar, which has fallen to its lowest level against its main rivals in more than a year, according to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
-0.52%,
a closely watched gauge of the greenback’s value.

The index was off by 0.5% at 100.01 in Thursday dealings.