Gold prices inched lower on Wednesday on a firmer dollar and as investor focus shifted to the Jackson Hole central bankers event for more clues on rate hike plans.
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,743.89 per ounce by 09:49 ET (1349 GMT). It rose as much as 1% in the previous session.
US gold futures eased 0.3% to $1,758.60.
The dollar rose 0.3%, making gold more expensive for overseas buyers.
While the dollar’s uptick is hurting gold, “the market is relatively quiet. Metal traders are waiting to see what comes out of the Jackson Hole meet and want to know more about Fed’s rate hike path,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
Market participants await US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday. The speech could throw some light on the Fed’s monetary policy tightening path.
Amid high-interest rates, gold tends to perform poorly as it yields no interest.
Gold gains on dollar pullback after weak US data
“Whether gold breaks $1,730 or not may well depend on what Powell has to say as well as whether traders are in the mood to listen, should he stick to his colleague’s hawkish script,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA wrote in a note.
Investors will also focus on the US second-quarter gross domestic product second estimate and July consumer spending data due later this week.
Spot silver fell 1% to $18.97 per ounce.
“The performance of silver has been negative so far in 2022… A mix of negative factors, including fear of recession, rising interest rates and a strong dollar, hit the price of the industrial metal hard,” aid Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst for Kinesis Money.
Platinum dropped 1.1% to $869.69, while palladium rose 2% to $2,019.10.
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