LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Gold headed for the biggest monthly advance since July, with inflation risks in focus ahead of key U.S. jobs data due later this week that will offer clues on the economic recovery.
Some Federal Reserve officials have said that recent price pressures are to be expected as the economy reopens amid pent-up demand, and should prove temporary as supply glitches abate. The PCE price index -- which the Fed uses for its inflation target -- rose 3.6% from a year earlier, the biggest jump since 2008.
Bullion erased its 2021 losses this month amid signs of accelerating inflation and a potentially uneven economic recovery due to the resurgence of Covid-19 in some countries. Investor interest has also returned, with hedge funds and other large speculators boosting their net-long position in gold to the highest since early January. Holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds climbed for the first time in four months in May but the gains remained far short of those seen during last year’s record rally.