International precious metals extended their strength on the night of August 17 to August 18, with COMEX gold futures closing up 0.81% at $4,473.10 per ounce and COMEX silver futures rising 1.22% to $65.91 per ounce. Spot gold moved back above $4,400, while the dollar index eased to around 99.3 and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell to about 4.68%, according to Jiemian News.

Market expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike in September cooled sharply. CME FedWatch showed the probability of holding rates unchanged rising to about 70%, compared with less than 50% a week earlier. Jiemian News reported that softer U.S. jobs, consumption and inflation data, along with wider fiscal deficits and expanding Treasury issuance, helped support gold demand. South Fund's Sinan Investment Advisory said gold can serve as a risk-diversification tool in multi-asset portfolios, but its short-term price elasticity is also high and investors should weigh moves in the dollar, rates and risk appetite.