Gold hits record high on rising hopes for Fed rate cut in June
Gold prices touched a record high on Monday after data showed that U.S. inflation moderated in February, boosting bets for the Federal Reserve's June interest rate cut.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold rose 1% at $2,255.39 per ounce, as of 0103 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $2,256.09 per ounce earlier in the session.
* U.S. gold futures gained 1.7% to $2,275.70 per ounce.
* The dollar was down 0.1% against its rivals, making gold more appealing for other currency holders.
* The latest U.S. inflation data is «along the lines of what we would like to see,» Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday.
* U.S. prices moderated in February with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rising 0.3% for February, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Friday.
* Traders are pricing in a 69% probability that the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Lower interest rates boost the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
* China's manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March, offering relief to policymakers even as a crisis in the property sector remains a drag on the economy and confidence.
* Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday.
* Russia's Nornickel, the world's largest palladium producer, said on Friday that some clients in the European Union had refused to buy products made with Russian metals.
* Spot silver rose 1% to $25.22 per ounce,
