Gold prices firm near eight-month highs on slight dollar decline

The gold prices They rose on Wednesday helped by a slight drop in the dollar, although bullion, considered a haven asset, fell from its highest level in eight months due to a de-escalation of the crisis in Ukraine in which there were fears of an invasion by Russian troops.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,856.83 an ounce by 10:18 GMT. US gold futures were trading up $0.24% at 1,860 an ounce.

On Tuesday, gold prices touched their highest level since June last year, before turning around to close down nearly 1%.

Stocks in Asia rebounded after Moscow indicated it would return some troops to their bases after military exercises. Russia has been amassing hundreds of troops near the Ukrainian border, straining relations with Western nations and NATO.

The dollar index fell slightly on Wednesday, making bullion traded in the US currency less expensive for investors outside the United States.

British consumer prices rose at the fastest annual pace in almost 30 years last month, bolstering the chances that the Bank of England will raise interest rates for the third time in a row.

The US Federal Reserve will kick off its monetary tightening cycle in March with a 25 basis point interest rate hike, according to a Reuters poll, but a growing minority say they will opt for a more aggressive half percentage point hike to contain runaway inflation.

Higher interest rates in the United States increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion as an investment.

Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.8% to $23.53 an ounce, platinum gained 0.3% to $1,028.28 an ounce, and palladium added 1.7% to $2,286. 52 the ounce.

With information from Reuters