KUALA LUMPUR, The gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher today after the latest US producer price index (PPI) data pointed to cooler inflation. The annual PPI came in lower than expected at 2.2 per cent in July against consensus estimate of 2.3 per cent and the 2.7 per cent recorded in the previous month, signalling that the US Federal Reserve was on track to cutting interest rates in September. At the end of trading, August 2024 rose to US$2,485.90 per troy ounce from US$2,468.90 per troy ounce at yesterday's close. Meanwhile, September 2024, October 2024, November 2024, December 2024, and February 2025 all settled higher at US$2,489.60 per troy ounce against US$2,472.60 per troy ounce previously. However, volume doubled to 48 lots from 24 lots yesterday, while open interest surged to 60 contracts from 33 contracts previously. The price of physical gold stood at US$2,471.55 per troy ounce, according to the London Bullion Market Association's afternoon fix on Aug 13. Source: BERNAMA News Agency