Gold prices firm as spotlight shifts to US Fed policy meeting

Gold gained on Wednesday but was on track to snap its three-month winning streak, while markets were glued to the U.S. central bank’s policy rate outlook discussion later in the day.

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,045.69 per ounce by 09:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), while U.S. gold futures rose 0.7% to $2,044.90.

Gold has declined 0.8% so far this month after surging to a record peak in December, as traders pared back bets of a March start to U.S. rate cuts.

We expect algorithmic buying activity to support prices, and strong physical demand and central bank demand, the major components of demand drivers for gold, are lining up in the same direction, said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.

U.S. private payrolls rose far less than expected in January, data showed, though the pace likely overstates the slowing labor market momentum.

The two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes later in the day, with the Fed likely to keep interest rates unchanged. Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET will be watched for insight into how soon the Fed will cut interest rates this year. The odds of a rate cut in March have dropped to about 64% currently, from about 73% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The press conference is where the markets will start to look for any signs that March is indeed on the table for the Fed’s first rate cut, Ghali added.

The dollar index fell, but was on course for its best month since September, and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a two-week low but were also set for monthly rise.

Spot silver prices gained 0.1% to $23.19 per ounce, while platinum was up 0.5% at $925.47, and palladium rose 0.3% at $979.28. All three metals were poised for monthly declines.

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