(Bloomberg) -- Gold may have finally snapped out of its inertia.
Prices headed for their biggest gain since March 2017 as of 10:51 a.m. in New York after a slump in global equity markets and data showing slower-than-expected U.S. inflation stoked demand for the metal as a store of value. Futures were set for a third straight gain, the longest rally since Aug. 22.
Bullion, which touched a six-week-high $1,218.60 an ounce on Thursday, has traded near $1,200 since late August as traders weighed geopolitical risks that could boost the metal's allure as a haven against rising interest rates that dampen its appeal.
The inflation data may spur the Federal Reserve “to pump the brakes on further hikes,” Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at RJO Futures, said in a telephone interview. The slump in global equities is also luring investors to “safe-haven” assets, he said.
--With assistance from Rupert Rowling.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Joe Richter, Margot Habiby
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