As markets consider Fed pause, gold struggles to find direction

5 Sep 2023 , 10:14 AM

In anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s meeting this month and growing expectations for a slowdown in interest rate hikes, gold prices remained subdued on Tuesday as investors awaited additional indicators of the health of the American economy.

Spot gold remained unchanged at $1,937.58 per ounce in early trade, down from one-month highs reached on Friday. U.S. gold futures decreased 0.2% to $1,963.40 as trade was light on Monday due to a holiday in the country.

Compared to other currencies, the U.S. dollar index was down 0.1%.

A survey released on Monday revealed that investor sentiment in the euro zone declined more than anticipated at the beginning of September as Germany’s economic difficulties continued to be a significant drag on the region.

Central banks in the world’s largest developed and developing nations took a break in August, slowing down the tempo and magnitude of interest rate increases as divergent growth forecasts and inflation threats clouded the near-term outlook.

According to former board member Goushi Kataoka, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will only be able to progressively abandon its easy monetary policy once it has confirmed that its 2% inflation goal has been sustainably met.

The 3.9 billion yuan ($536 million) extension on onshore debt payments struck by Country Garden with its creditors on Monday helped the developer’s stock rise and provided the crisis-stricken Chinese real estate market with much-needed relief.

In other news, spot silver fell by 0.1% to $23.94 an ounce, platinum fell by 0.6% to $948.20, while palladium was unchanged at $1,221.45. 

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