Gold futures extended gains to a nine-week high after a report showed US consumer prices rose less than expected, weakening the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
Bullion futures for December delivery rose 0.3 pe rcent to settle at US$1,294 an ounce at 1:48pm on the Comex in New York. That's the highest close for a most active contract since June 6. It earlier added as much as 0.6 percent to $1,298.10. The metal climbed 2.3 per cent last week, posting the fourth weekly gain in five.
The U.S. consumer-price index rose 0.1 per cent in July, a labour department report showed Friday, trailing the 0.2 per cent median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A more sustained ebb in price pressures could make it tougher for the central bank to stay on course for one more rate increase this year. Low rates boost the appeal of gold, which doesn’t pay interest.
With the CPI data,“traders are thinking there will be no interest rate hike this year,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK in London. “This doesn’t help the Fed’s situation. It helps the doves who want the Fed to go slow.”
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The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
