Gold held near its highest level this month

Gold held near its highest level this month, as the dollar continued its retreat amid growing expectations that inflation may have peaked in the US.

Bullion closed up 0.5% on Monday after earlier hitting $1,735.14 an ounce, the highest since Aug. 30. Silver jumped 5% in the session, its biggest daily gain since February 2021.

The US will release inflation data for August on Tuesday, with markets expecting annual price increases to fall to 8.1%, which would be the second monthly decline from a peak of 9.1% in June.

Consumers are also expecting CPI to fall, according to a survey published Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

That would ease pressure on the Fed to keep implementing super-sized rate increases, although officials have signaled another 75 basis point hike is likely next week.

The European Central Bank has also indicated it is prepared to boost rates by that amount in October, and Bloomberg Economics is predicting a further 75 basis point rise, in two installments, by February.

Gold added 0.1% to $1,726.27 at 8:46 a.m. Singapore time. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2% after falling 0.4% on Monday. Silver edged higher, while platinum and palladium dipped.