scorecardresearchGold trades in tight range as investors focus on US debt talks, Fed minutes

Gold trades in tight range as investors focus on US debt talks, Fed minutes

Updated: 24 May 2023, 09:01 AM IST
TL;DR.

Spot gold ticked 0.1% lower to $1,973.38 per ounce by 0257 GMT. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,975.90.

FILE PHOTO: An ingot of 99.99 percent pure gold is cast at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk

FILE PHOTO: An ingot of 99.99 percent pure gold is cast at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk

(Reuters) Gold prices moved in a narrow range on Wednesday after another round of talks on U.S. debt ceiling ended with no deal, while investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting to gauge the path forward for interest rates.

Spot gold ticked 0.1% lower to $1,973.38 per ounce by 0257 GMT. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,975.90.

Representatives of U.S. President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans ended another round of debt-ceiling talks without a resolution on Tuesday as the deadline to raise the government's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit ticked closer.

The dollar index held firm, making gold less attractive for overseas buyers.

"Focus ahead remains on the debt-ceiling impasse and Fed's rate-hike cycle," OCBC FX strategist Christopher Wong said.

"Fed remarks have been noisy and varied, but what is probably clear is that the Fed is saying that a pause is not an end to the tightening cycle, so there is still that risk of hike, dependent on how data pans out."

Interest rate hikes raise the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold.

Minutes of the Fed's May 2-3 meeting, when it raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 5.00%-5.25% range, are due later in the day.

Markets are currently pricing in a 69.7% chance of the Fed holding rates at its June 13-14 policy meeting, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Therefore, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures data, due on Friday, will be a key focus, and a softer print could ease fears of a hawkish Fed and that could perhaps lend further support to gold, Wong said.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently said it was still unclear if U.S. interest rates would need to rise further.

Spot silver fell 0.3% to $23.37 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.1% to $1,049.38. Palladium added 0.5% at $1,453.16.

 

First Published: 24 May 2023, 09:01 AM IST