Gold edges higher as dollar slips

Gold bars

Gold futures edged higher on Thursday as the US dollar weakened and investor uncertainty grew following reports raising concerns over the future independence of the Federal Reserve.

August gold futures rose 0.15%, or $5.3, to $3,348.4 an ounce during morning trading. Spot gold was little changed at $3,333.66 an ounce as of 08:31 a.m. Mecca time.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 97.49.

Among other precious metals, September silver futures rose 0.65% to $36.67 an ounce. Spot platinum climbed 1.95% to $1,381.15, while spot palladium jumped 3.2% to $1,101.64.

According to reports cited by MarketWatch, US President Donald Trump has recently begun signaling plans to name a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, with an announcement possibly coming by September or October.

Powell told a US Senate panel on Wednesday that tariffs proposed by Trump could lead to a temporary rise in prices, but warned that the risk of persistent inflation remains high enough to warrant caution in easing monetary policy.

Markets are now awaiting US jobless claims data and the final reading of first-quarter GDP, both due later today.