09:26 AM EDT, 07/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Gold edged higher early on Thursday even as the dollar rose after a key U.S. inflation climbed in June and a day after the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank will hold off on interest-rate cuts as it assesses the impact of U.S. tariffs on inflation.

Gold for December delivery was last seen up US$5.40 to US$3,358.20 per ounce.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday reported the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, rose 0.3% in June from May, up from a 0.2% monthly rise a month earlier but matching the consensus estimate according to FactSet.

On an annualized basis the PCE Index rose at a 2.6% rate, above expectations for a rise of 2.5% and up from 2.4% in May. The data is likely to firm the Fed's determination to hold off an rate cuts as it assesses the impact of U.S. President's Donald Trump's tariffs, after holding the line on interest rates at the end of the two-day meeting of its policy committee on Wednesday.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell Powell said the central bank is also likely to hold rates steady at its next meeting in September, despite pressure from Donald Trump to lower rates. The President again attacked the Chair on social media on Thursday, calling him "a total loser".

"The Fed did not fulfill some of the market's expectations that it would signal imminent interest rate cuts. Powell stated that no decisions had been made about easing in September, that the labor market was solid, and inflation was above target," Christopher Louney, a commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets, wrote.

The prospect of steady interest rates pushed the dollar higher, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.11 points to 99.91, the highest since May 22.

Treasury yields eased, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 3.945%, down 0.6 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 2.1 points to 4.358%.