Investors' concerns about the prospects of the U.S. economy increased after the recent collapse and sale of First Republic Bank, as well as the problems of another bank - PacWest Bancorp, whose capitalization, as reported by investing.com, collapsed by 50% on Wednesday. The concern was caused by the weakening of the U.S. banking system. Against this background, gold, which is traditionally seen as a safe-haven asset, rose in price.

The precious metal was trading at $2055.20 last night, adding 0.89%. The dollar index was down 0.5% at 101.06 points. It shifted to decline after yesterday's comment from Fed chief Jerome Powell that Wednesday's key rate hike may be the last. A weaker dollar is a growth driver for gold, as it allows foreign currency buyers to buy more of it. Besides, decrease in profitability of ten-year American government bonds also supported it.