Gold hits near 7-month peak as dollar, yields weaken on Fed rate cut bets

Gold prices touched a nearly seven-month high on Wednesday propelled by an extended decline in the U.S. dollar and bond yields as investors grew confident that the Federal Reserve would likely cut rates by the first half of next year. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,044.53 per ounce by 0453 GMT after hitting its highest since May 5. "Gold is driven by an increasing market expectation of a Fed pivot from a hawkish tilt to a dovish tilt in the first half of next year – earlier than it did before," said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA.