Gold prices were little changed on Wednesday, with markets awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for more signals on the US interest rate trajectory after dismal economic data.
Spot gold was steady at $1,701.43 per ounce by 0921 GMT. US gold futures edged 0.1% lower to $1,705.80.
"Overall, the gold market is treading water because there are strong forces in both directions - we have physical jewellery demand which is very lacklustre and on the other hand we have demand coming from investors who are looking for protection for their capital," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg.
"While we do not expect the Fed to go to negative policy rates, and they still have plenty of other monetary tools at their disposal ... the front-end curve pricing this phenomenon may be a bullish gold market tail risk," Citi Research said in a note.
"So even as we see the potential for gold market liquidation and broad asset market drawdowns in the next 3-6 months, we think gold trading will still mostly hover in a high-$1,600 to mid-$1,700 handle."
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.2% to 1,083.66 tonnes on Tuesday - its highest in seven years.
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