Gold firms, eyes on Fed Chair Warsh's comments

Gold prices surged on Thursday, recovering from a more than one percent drop the previous day, as investors turned their focus to remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh expected later in the week. Spot gold soared by 0.5 percent to $4,615.27 an ounce, while US gold futures surged 0.4 percent to $4,669.50. The price decline occurred on Wednesday following data revealing that US inflation remained high in July, staying above the Fed's 2 percent target for the 65th straight month.

This could potentially complicate the central bank's deliberations on whether to raise interest rates or maintain them steady. Analysts anticipate a 36.5 percent likelihood of a US rate increase in September and a 72.7 percent chance by December, as per the CME FedWatch Tool. As gold does not yield interest, it tends to lose appeal when interest rates rise.

Warsh is set to address the audience at the central bank's Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Geopolitically, Qatar's prime minister is scheduled to visit Tehran to attempt to restore diplomatic relations following heated disputes between the US and Iran over Washington's plan to heighten economic sanctions against Tehran by targeting its trading partners with penalties.

Among other precious metals, silver rose by 1 percent to $68.77 an ounce, platinum increased by 0.7 percent to $1,842.88, and palladium advanced by 0.3 percent to $1,332.34. In a separate development, South Africa's mining enterprises are ramping up investments in renewable energy in an effort to diversify their power sources, reduce costs, and meet decarbonisation targets, marking a change after generations of reliance on state utility Eskom.