Gold prices were flat on Thursday, as investors awaited a key U.S. inflation reading that could provide further insights into the Federal Reserve‘s policy path.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was unchanged at $2,338.04 per ounce, as of 0125 GMT, after falling 1% in the previous session.
* U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $2,358.30.
* U.S. economic activity continued to expand from early April through mid-May but firms grew more downbeat about the future amid weakening consumer demand while inflation continued to increase at a modest pace, a Fed survey showed, as central bankers mull how long they will need to keep interest rates at current levels. * Investors are now awaiting the April reading on the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Friday. * Traders’ bets signalled growing skepticism that the Fed will cut rates more than once in 2024, currently pricing in about a 61% chance of a rate cut by November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. * Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
* Goldman Sachs remains selectively bullish on commodities, it said in a note, citing solid demand growth, expectations of more structural upside in industrial metals and gold.
* India’s silver imports in the first four months of the year have already surpassed the total for all of 2023, government and industry officials told Reuters.
* Global mining group BHP Group walked away from its $49 billion plan to take over rival Anglo American, which rejected a last-ditch request for more time, ending for now its six-week pursuit.
* Spot silver rose 0.2% to $32.03 per ounce, platinum was up 0.5% at $1,040.55 and palladium lost 1.3% to $952.50.