Gold pulls back from two-month high as investors take profits

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Gold prices retreated on Thursday after touching their highest level in more than two months, as investors locked in gains. Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,495.69 an ounce by 03:31 GMT, having earlier reached $4,525.79, the strongest price since June 2. The metal had gained more than 4% on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures bucked the trend, rising 0.2% to $4,553.30 an ounce. The move came as the U.S. Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it would double the size of its long-term bond repurchase operations to support market liquidity following large-scale bond auctions. The U.S. dollar slipped to near a three-month low against major peers. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in a 67% probability that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its September meeting. Elsewhere in precious metals, spot silver edged up 0.2% to $67.07, while platinum dropped 1.3% to $1,802.29 and palladium slipped 0.2% to $1,328.06.