Gold gains as dollar slips after dovish Fed

GOLD - JAKARTA. Gold prices rose on Thursday as the dollar weakened after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future even though it took a rosier view of the economic recovery.

Spot gold gained 0.3% to $1,786.36 per ounce by 0253 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,786.50 per ounce. The dollar index edged 0.1% lower against its rivals, boosting gold's appeal for other currency holders.

"The Fed stayed close to its dovish message overnight at its latest FOMC meeting. With this risk point removed, investors rushed back into the global recovery trade, pushing the dollar lower, with U.S. bond yields remaining unchanged," OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said.

"Investors are loading up on gold long positions again after the Fed passed without any major surprises or hints of tapering."

On Wednesday, the Fed said it was too early to consider rolling back its emergency support with so many workers still left jobless by the pandemic. Further helping gold was U.S. President Joe Biden's sweeping $1.8 trillion package plan for families and education in his first speech to Congress.

Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus measures because it is viewed as a hedge against inflation. Elsewhere, auto-catalyst metal palladium edged up 0.7% to $2,948.24 per ounce, having scaled an all-time peak of $2,962.50 on Tuesday.

"Investment demand for palladium is minimal and ... we expect it to benefit more than platinum from a rebound in autocatalyst demand as it is used primarily in gasoline vehicles," Capital Economics wrote in a note.

Combining this with supply disruptions from the two mines in Russia, the palladium deficit is expected to widen this year and help prices to reach $3,000 per ounce, it added. Platinum was up 0.4% at $1,223.46 and silver gained 0.8% to $26.37 per ounce.