NEW YORK: Gold prices hovered near a one-week low on Wednesday as a rally in oil prices stoked inflation fears linked to Middle East tensions, with investors looking ahead to next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
Spot gold was steady at USD4,133.48 per ounce by 09:10 am EDT (1310 GMT) after hitting its lowest since October 15 in earlier trade. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.23 percent to USD4,152.20 per ounce.
“I think the market is currently expecting one 25-basis-point rate hike this year, but probably not until December. The likelihood of an October rate hike has dropped pretty significantly,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals. “I think gold prices will be range-bound for the time being. But I think the bias remains to the downside.”
Attention is turning to the Federal Reserve’s October 27-28 policy meeting and next week’s US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report for clues on future rate moves.
Markets are pricing in an 88 percent chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.
Nearly all economists surveyed by Reuters expect the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady this month before delivering a hike in December, as policymakers opt for patience despite persistent inflation pressures that would otherwise call for stronger action. Although gold is traditionally considered an inflation hedge, higher rates dent its appeal as investors prefer yield-bearing assets.
Oil prices rose more than USD2 on Wednesday, with Brent crude holding around USD108 a barrel, as Iran’s comments dimmed hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough with the United States.
“I would still believe in the short term, gold is in consolidation mode. So whenever we go below 4,100, it’s bottoming out because there is buying interest, but the upside remains limited as long as the conflict in the Middle East is somehow still a topic,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS.
Among other metals, spot silver slid 0.62 percent to USD57.62 per ounce, platinum fell 0.47 percent to USD1,641.05 and palladium dropped 0.97 percent to USD1,091.75.
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