Gold Rally Pauses Amid Profit-Taking Pressure
Gold's recent rally paused on Thursday as investors took profits following a sharp surge that pushed the precious metal above $4,500 an ounce for the first time in nearly three months. Spot gold fell over 1% to around $4,450 an ounce in early trading before recovering some of its losses.
The bullion had surged as much as 4% in the previous session, benefiting from sharp declines in the US dollar and long-term bond yields following the Treasury Department's announcement of an expanded government debt buyback program.
Jim Wyckoff, a market analyst at American Gold Exchange, said gold has come under routine profit-taking pressure following the previous session's strong gains. The release of hawkish Federal Reserve meeting minutes and a rebound in oil prices, which revived inflation concerns, also weighed on gold.