Gold prices rose on Thursday, for the third straight day and hit a 4-week high, as the US dollar fell against a basket of currencies.

Gold prices rose more than 1.0% to the highest since November 18 at $1,883.11 an ounce, after opening $1,864.17, and hit a low of $1,861.99.

The yellow metal closed higher by 0.6% yesterday, and posted the second straight daily gain as the US dollar fell after the Federal Reserve’s meeting concluded.

The dollar index fell more than 0.4% today, deepening its losses for the sixth straight day, and hit the lowest level in two and a half years at 89.88 points.

A drop in the US currency lifts the dollar-denominated gold prices, making them cheaper for other currencies holders.

The greenback fell sharply due to slowdown in demand as the US Congress is close to passing the new fiscal stimulus in the US, and the Federal Reserve pledged to continue purchasing bonds to support the economy.

Some US lawmakers said on Wednesday that the Congress is close to passing a $900 billion fiscal stimulus package to mitigate the pandemic economic impact.

The US Federal Reserve kept the interest rate today unchanged between zero and 0.25%, and pledged it would continue its monthly purchases of bonds until substantial further progress is made.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF remained unchanged yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since June 23 at 1,170.15 MT.

Oil prices surged on Thursday, and hit a 9-month high, while extending gains for the fourth straight, as concerns about the US oversupply eased after a drop the US crude inventories fell and production slowed.

US crude rose 1.5% to the highest level since last March at $48.58, after opening at $47.85, and hit a session low of $47.83, and Brent crude rose 1.6% to $51.88 a barrel, after opening at $51.04, with a low of $51.04.

US crude gained 0.6% yesterday, and Brent crude futures rose 0.7%, extending gains for the third straight day after the US Energy Information Administration's weekly report.

The US Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that crude inventories fell 3.1 million barrels during the week ending December 11, while analysts forecast a drop by 2.8 million barrels.

The US production fell about 100,000 barrels last week, to a total of 11.0 million barrels per day, the first weekly drop since the week ending on October 30.

Withdrawing from the US inventories while production slowed, eased fears of oversupply in the world's largest consumer and producer of oil.

Sterling rose in European trade for the fourth straight session against dollar, marking 2-1/5 year highs on hopes the EU-UK trade talks will produce results soon and ahead of Bank of England's policy decisions. 

GBP/USD rose 0.6% to 1.3586, the highest since May 2018, with an intraday low at 1.3495. 

The pound rose 0.4% yesterday on reports of actual progress in UK-EU trade talks. 

The dollar index fell 0.4% on Thursday for the sixth straight session, plumbing April 2018 lows.

The sharp decrease in dollar's worth comes as Congress prepares a new stimulus package to counter the coronavirus pandemic impact. 

The European Commission indicated actual progress in UK trade talks, with the coming days considered "crucial" in deciding the deal. 

Later today, Bank of England will announce its policy decisions, expected to maintain rates at 0.10% and the assets purchases program at 895 billion pounds a month. 

Asian stock indices opened the fourth session of the week mixed with Japan, Hong Kong, China, New Zealand, And Australia higher, while South Korea lost ground, as investors await a new US stimulus package by Congress. 

Japan's TOPEX rose 0.07%, while Nikkei 225 barely inched down 0.01% to 26,754. 

China's CSI 300 rose 1% to 5,003, while Shanghai climbed 0.71% to 3,390. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.21%, while South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.59% to 2,755. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.42%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rallied 0.82% to 6,733.