Gold futures ended sharply higher on Monday, near the highest price level since January 7 as the sluggish US Treasury Bond Yields and a weaker dollar boosted investment appeal of the bullion. Additionally, still lingering concern over global economic health followed by the unexpectedly lower Chinese economic data and the all-time high inflation rates also buoyed the bullish bets in the bullion. Real interest rates on inflation-protected US Treasury bonds fell to minus 0.93%, while the implied rate of inflation across the next decade reached a fresh 8-year high at 2.55% per annum. As per reports, hedge funds and other leveraged speculators in Comex gold futures and options picked up its bullish betting by 12% on gold as a group in the week ending 11 May, and trimmed their bearish betting by more than one fifth.
Gold futures for June jumped by 1.6% or $29.50 at $1,867.60an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile. Spot gold rose by 1.3% to $1,866.84 per ounce.