Gold Posting Solid Gains As U.S. Dollar Index Sells Off Following Fed Chair Speech

(Kitco News) - Gold pricesare solidly higher, near their daily highs and poised toproduce a technically bullish weekly high close in afternoon trading Friday.The U.S. dollar index is solidly lower following comments from Federal ReserveChairman Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this morning. The Fed is notseeing risks of the U.S. economy overheating or of inflation accelerating aboveits target, Powell said. He defended the central bank's gradual approach tolifting interest rates and said the Fed is attempting to navigate between twinrisks: moving too quickly and needlessly shortening the economic expansion, andconversely lifting rates too slowly and risking a "destabilizingoverheating." He said he sees the current path of gradually raising interestrates as "the FOMC's approach to taking seriously both of these risks....While inflation has recently moved up near 2%, we have seen no clear sign of anacceleration above 2%, and there does not seem to be an elevated risk ofoverheating." There are mixed ideas on whether Powell's comments weredeemed hawkish on U.S. monetary policy. Nonetheless, the U.S. dollar index is trading near its daily low. December goldwas last up $19.70 an ounce at $1,213.60.

By Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

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