Gold surges to nine-month peak past $1,300

Gold futures rose for the third session in a row, marking the highest since November 9, and on track for the second weekly profit in row, and the first past $1,300 in nine month, as the dollar lost ground ahead of ahead of the preliminary reading for the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, and Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan's speech later today. 

As of 02:59 GMT, gold futures due on December 16 rose 0.87% to $1,303.60 an ounce from the opening of $1,292.40, while the dollar index declined 0.24% to 93.40 from the opening of 93.62. 

Now markets await the UoM consumer sentiment survey for August, expected to rise to 94.0 from 93.4 in July, while Kaplan will speak at the Dallas County Community College, with investors looking for anew clues about the future of monetary policy. 

Earlier this week, the Fed released the minutes of the July 25-26 meeting, at which policymakers voted to maintain interest rates at between 1.0% and 1.25%, and asserting the normalizing plans of the bank's massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet despite recent concerns about softening inflation. 

Gold's surge past $1,300 comes after US president Donald Trump dissolved two business and manufacturing advisory councils, forcing back to the surface concerns about Trump's agenda, and shifting liquidity to safe havens such as gold and silver.