By Brijesh Patel
Jan 12 (Reuters) – Gold prices rose to near an eight-month high on Thursday, helped by a weaker dollar, as investors braced for a U.S. inflation report that is expected to provide more clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike path.
* Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,884.61 an ounce at 0956 GMT, after hitting its highest level since early May at $1,886.59 on Wednesday.
* US gold futures were up 0.5% at $1,887.80.
* The dollar was trading near seven-month lows against rival currencies, making gold more attractive to holders of other currencies.
* US Consumer Price Index data will be released at 1330 GMT. Economists polled by Reuters estimate that consumer prices rose 6.5% year-on-year in December, easing from November’s 7.1% rise.
* Boston Fed leader Susan Collins was likely to raise interest rates a quarter of a percentage point at the central bank’s next policy meeting, the New York Times reported.
* Money market participants see a 75% chance that the Fed will raise the benchmark rate by 25 basis points in February.
* Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation, higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which does not earn interest.
* Among other precious metals, silver was up 1.3% at $23.73 an ounce, platinum was steady at $1,071.16 and palladium was up 0.3% at $1,779.09.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel, Arundhati Sarkar and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing in Spanish by Ricardo Figueroa)
