(Before It's News)
Gold rallied to the highest level in seven weeks on Friday on the back of heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on hiking interest rates until 2016. Gold for December delivery was up 0.97% to $1,155.4 in late trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since August 24. For the week, gold futures climbed 1.69% as uncertainty over how soon the U.S. central bank will start to raise interest rates weighed on the dollar. Gold would benefit from any delay in raising U.S. interest rates as higher interest rates make gold look less competitive against interest-yielding assets. A rate hike would also boost the dollar, which would make dollar-denominated gold more expensive to holders of other currencies. Minutes from the Fed’s September policy meeting, published on Thursday, showed that most policymakers thought an initial rate hike should still come this year and that financial market turmoil had not “materially altered” the outlook for the U.S. economy. But the minutes also noted that recent global economic and financial developments may have increased the downside risks to the U.S. economy.
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