Gold near $4,000 as inflation, Fed signal and Mideast tensions
Gold prices are hovering around $4,000 an ounce right now, with everyone keeping an eye on rising inflation and the possibility of a US interest rate hike.
The Federal Reserve has hinted it might raise rates by the end of the year after September's inflation numbers jumped, the biggest increase since March.
That news, plus higher energy costs from tensions in the Middle East and talk of US action against Iran, pushed gold down more than 3% this month.
Chinese households keep buying gold
Even with the recent dip, gold isn't losing its appeal, especially for long-term buyers. Some Chinese households have actually been picking up more gold during this drop.
At 8:29am in Singapore, spot gold slipped just 0.2% to $4,012.47 an ounce.
Silver also fell slightly and is down 14% for October, along with drops in platinum and palladium prices.