Investing.com -- Gold pared gains after hitting two-week highs on Thursday, as market players digested signals that the Federal Reserve could avoid a near-term interest rate hike and looked ahead to a closely-watched meeting from the Bank of Japan.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold for December delivery traded between $1,339.55 and $1,352.55 an ounce before settling at $1,341.65, up 7.15 or 0.54% on the session. At session-highs, Gold surged to its highest level since July 12 when the precious metal retreated from 28-month highs triggered by an extended Post-Brexit, risk-off rally. Since opening the year around $1,075 an ounce, Gold has soared approximately 25% year to date and is on pace for one of its strongest years in a decade.
Gold likely gained support at $1,253.70, the low from June 24 and was met with resistance at $1,368.60, the high from July 7.
Gold spiked in Wednesday's after-hour session after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left its benchmark Federal Funds Rate unchanged at a level between 0.25 and 0.50% at the conclusion of its July monetary policy meeting. Despite noting that near term risks to the economic outlook have diminished over the last month, the FOMC said it still expects that economic conditions may only warrant gradual increases in short-term interest rates in the coming months. For the most part, markets interpreted the statement as a dovish indication that the FOMC could delay the timing of its next rate hike beyond their meeting in September. Following the release, the CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) Fed Watch tool lowered the probability that the FOMC could raise interest rates in September to 18%, down from 20.3% earlier in the session.
Any rate hikes by the FOMC this year are viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles to compete versus high-yield bearing assets in periods of rising rate environments.
Elsewhere, the Dollar fell sharply against the Japanese Yen amid signals that the Bank of Japan could fail to meet market expectations by approving only slight easing measures at a highly-anticipated meeting on Friday. While Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a broad ¥28 trillion stimulus plan on Wednesday, Reuters reported that the Japanese government may only provide as much as ¥7 trillion in direct fiscal stimulus. If Abe is unable to deliver on promises of jumpstarting the economy with a broad stimulus initiative, the Japanese Central Bank could feel added pressure to lower interest rates deeper into negative territory. The Yen has gained nearly 13% against the Dollar year-to-date.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell to a near two-week low at 96.25 on Thursday before rallying slightly to 96.66 in U.S. afternoon trading (down 0.39%). Earlier this week, the index hit a four-month high at 97.62.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as Gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Silver for September delivery surged 0.238 or 1.19% to 20.233 an ounce.
Copper for September delivery soared 0.027 or 1.24% to 2.212 a pound.