Gold prices edge higher as US dollar, yields soften
Gold prices edged higher on Thursday, supported by a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields after data signalled cooling U.S. inflation, bolstering bets for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,393.21 per ounce, as of 0043 GMT. Bullion prices rose 1% on Wednesday.
* U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% higher to $2,397.60.
* The dollar fell 0.2% against a basket of other major currencies, making gold more attractive for other currency holders. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their lowest in a more than one month.
* U.S. CPI rose 0.3% last month after advancing 0.4% in March and February, suggesting that inflation resumed its downward trend at the start of the second quarter in a boost to financial market expectations for a September interest rate cut.
* Federal Reserve policymakers waiting to see renewed progress on inflation before reducing borrowing costs got some encouraging data on Wednesday with a government report showing inflation eased a bit in April.
* Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
* Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said he was optimistic inflation would continue to come down.
* Escalation of the U.S.-China trade war seems unavoidable whoever wins the White House in November, but the equally inevitable inflationary pressures that brings won't automatically steer the Federal Reserve toward a more hawkish policy stance.
* India's merchandise trade deficit in April was wider than
