Gold prices inched up on Thursday as the dollar slipped following a deal by oil producers to curb output.

Spot gold had risen 0.3 per cent to $1,324.76 an ounce by 0047 GMT.

US gold futures were up 0.4 per cent at $1,328.30 an ounce.

OPEC had agreed on Wednesday modest oil output cuts in the first such deal since 2008, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia softening its stance on arch-rival Iran amid mounting pressure from low oil prices.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.1 per cent to 95.352.

Annual stress tests

The Federal Reserve is considering changing the annual stress tests it gives to US banks to see if they can withstand a massive financial crisis, Yellen said.

The Fed’s chair did not comment on the outlook for the economy or monetary policy in her prepared remarks.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said that raising rates because of financial stability concerns could leave the US central bank less able to reach its inflation target.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the central bank could keep rates low for a while as inflation remains weak.

New orders for non-military US capital goods other than aircraft rose for a third straight month in August, a positive signal for the business investment outlook.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi rejected German criticism that sub-zero interest rates were impoverishing savers and straining top lender Deutsche Bank, saying its monetary policy was a necessity to get the euro zone back on the path to growth and revive inflation.

Russia’s central bank is ready to keep buying gold from banks but has no quotas or objective to increase bullion’s share in its reserves, the bank’s First Deputy Governor Dmitry Tulin had said on Wednesday.

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