The U.S. dollar remained subdued during early trading, supporting dollar-priced precious metals. A weaker dollar reduces the cost of gold for buyers using other currencies. Meanwhile, the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield remained elevated near 4.84%. Gold does not pay interest, making changes in bond yields important for precious metals markets. Brent crude also held above $100 a barrel after crossing that level during the previous session.
Markets also focused on two major U.S. inflation reports. Producer price index data will come at 1230 GMT on Thursday, followed by consumer inflation figures on Friday. The Federal Reserve meets on September 15 and 16, with inflation remaining central to its interest-rate decisions. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed markets assigning about a 60% probability to a U.S. rate increase this month. The federal funds target range currently stands at 3.50% to 3.75%.

Reserves stood at $56.2939 billion at the end of July. That means the total increased by about $920.6 million during August, or roughly 1.6%. The latest reading extends a series of monthly gains in 2026 and takes Egypt’s official foreign reserves above $57 billion for the first time.

The Panama Canal may reduce daily ship traffic to about 29 vessels in February or March 2027 if drought conditions continue, its new administrator said. Ilya Espino de Marotta took office on Sept. 7 and raised the possibility as El Niño pressures reservoir levels. The canal needs freshwater from rainfall-fed lakes to operate its locks. The Panama Canal Authority has already begun staged capacity cuts after below-expected precipitation across the watershed.

German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen AG agreed on Monday to sell its Osnabrück assembly plant to Israeli private equity firm Aurelius Capital and the German state of Lower Saxony. Under the preliminary agreement, the new owners will convert the vehicle manufacturing site into a dedicated security and defense production facility. The strategic transaction marks the first major industrial conversion of a German car factory to supply military hardware amid ongoing structural reorganization across Europe’s automotive sector. Israel Aurelius German state to take over VWs Osnabrueck plant defense projects to supply air defense equipment for European security markets.