Gold prices gain as Mideast worries dominate sentiment

Gold prices edged up on Thursday as the Middle-East conflict kept investors worried, with bullion standing firm despite a stronger U.S. dollar and bonds yields.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,985.89 per ounce by 0137 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% to $1,996.30.


* Israel kept up its strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza as it prepared for a ground invasion and world powers at the United Nations failed to secure plans to deliver critical humanitarian aid.

* Investors await the U.S. GDP numbers for the third quarter later in the day and the PCE price index on Friday ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision next week.

* The dollar and benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields climbed after data indicated that new-home sales surged to a 19-month high in September, affirming market expectations of prolonged high rates heading into 2024.

* Elsewhere, the European Central Bank will keep interest rates unchanged at a record high on Thursday, snapping a 15-month streak of hikes.

* The artificial intelligence boom could support industrial demand for precious metals next year, although high interest rates and economic concerns may be near-term headwinds, Metals Focus said.

* China's gold consumption in the first three quarters of 2023 climbed 7.3% from a year earlier, the China Gold Association said on Wednesday.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.2% on Wednesday.

* Sibanye Stillwater on Wednesday said a planned restructuring, which could see it close four loss-making platinum group metal (PGM) shafts in South Africa, could potentially result in the loss of 4,095 jobs.

* Spot silver gained 0.1% to $22.92 an ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $898.88 and palladium slipped 0.6% to $1,119.14.