Forexpros – Gold futures edged higher on Thursday, buoyed by prospects for more stimulus from China, but gains remained limited amid uncertainty over the possibility of further easing in the euro zone and the U.S.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,616.45 a troy ounce during early European trade, up 0.16%.

Gold futures were likely to test support at USD1,608.50 a troy ounce, Tuesday’s low and resistance at USD1,625.90, the high of July 30.

Earlier Thursday, official data showed that China’s consumer price index rose 1.8% year-over-year in July, slower than the 2.2% rate of the previous month, indicating that China’s central bank has more scope for monetary easing, following interest rates cuts in June and July.

Gold was also supported by expectations that the European Central Bank will act next month to lower high Spanish and Italian borrowing costs after the bank indicated last week that it may restart its bond purchasing program.

Trade remained subdued as investors waited for more details of the program to emerge.

In the U.S, comments by Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren earlier in the week kept alive speculation over the possibility for more easing by the U.S. central bank.

Rosengren said the Fed should launch another round of quantitative easing of whatever size and duration was necessary to get the economy back on its feet.

Meanwhile, physical demand from India, a major global gold consumer, looked likely to remain sluggish ahead of the festival season which begins this month and runs through until November, as a result of a weak rainy season and weakness in the rupee, which pushed domestic prices higher.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery eased up 0.19% to trade at USD28.130 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was up 0.24% to USD3.430 a pound.

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