Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.4% to close above $1,201 as Fed Chair Janet Yellen concluded her testimony before Congress, emphasizing that the central bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates. Gold was also supported by returning demand in China after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Building on what she called "flexibility" in Fed policy, Yellen told lawmakers that the FOMC will weight data on a "meeting-by-meeting basis" but remains unlikely to raise rates until inflation is clearly on track to reach its 2% target. The personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed's preferred measure, rose just 0.7% in the 2014 and has remained below that 2% for nearly three years.

The dollar fell for the second day on speculation that rate hikes will be delayed, supporting higher prices for gold and other commodities denominated in it for international trade.

Gold was further supported by strong demand returning to Chinese markets following the week-long Lunar New Year holiday closures, boosting prices in Asia by 1% overnight and increasing premiums by up to $6 per ounce on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, according to Reuters.

The other precious metals tracked higher with gold. Silver rose 1.5% while platinum and palladium added 0.5% and 2.3%, respectively.

At the Comex close: April gold gained $4.20 to $1,201.50; March silver rose 24 cents to 16.43; April platinum added $6.20 to $1,168.80; and March palladium jumped $18.05 to $808.05 an ounce.