Gold prices ease slightly from 8-month high

Gold prices cooled marginally from an eight-month high at the close of trading today, Jan. 10, amid intense market speculation over the path of interest rates.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who marked today his first public appearance of the year by addressing an event hosted by Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, stressed the importance of the Fed’s independence and his commitment to tame the impending inflation.

Powell, however, did not explicitly note his monetary policy outlook in his speech.

Investors await the release of US inflation data later this week. This will be followed by an announcement on the Fed's policy decision on Feb. 1.

Elsewhere, the World Bank lowered its forecast for global economic growth to 1.7% this year, from a much-rosier 3% estimate issued earlier in June 2022.

Upon settlement, gold for February delivery witnessed a slight dip of less than 0.1%, or $1.30, to close at $1,876.50 an ounce at 9:39 pm Makkah time.

On the other hand, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, ticked up by 0.3% at 103.279 points.