NEW YORK: Gold prices eased on Wednesday as the US dollar firmed, retreating from a record high scaled in the previous session, while investors hunkered down for economic data due later in the week for further cues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path.
Spot gold fell 0.5 percent to USD3,744.19 per ounce, as of 11:53 a.m. ET (1553 GMT), after hitting a record high of USD3,790.82 on Tuesday.
US gold futures for December delivery edged down 1 percent to USD3,776.50.
The US dollar index rose about 0.6 percent, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yields also drifted higher.
“Gold is still digesting some of the commentary coming out of the Federal Reserve yesterday and also geopolitical tensions with Russia... It’s slightly cautious ahead of some economic data coming out,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday offered no new clues on the future course of interest rates, stressing that the central bank must carefully balance the risks of stubborn inflation against a slowing job market.
Markets are pricing in two additional 25-basis-point rate cuts this year — one in October with a 94 percent probability and another in December with a 79 percent probability, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Focus is now on Thursday’s weekly US jobless claims data and Friday’s release of the US Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
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