Gold was little changed on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting, although higher bond yields kept bullion prices near six-week lows.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,904.30 per ounce by 9:48 a.m. EDT (1348 GMT), while U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,936.40.
“The broader economic situation looks better than it did three months ago and inflation seems to be coming down the way the Fed wants, and in such a situation there is less need for safe-havens like gold,” said Everett Millman, chief market analyst at Gainesville Coins.
“The path of least resistance seems to be lower for gold right now, and we’re very close to breaking below the $1,900 level, which is kind of a key psychological level.”
Gold prices have dropped more than 8%, or nearly $170 per ounce, since scaling above the key $2,000 level in early May, as a rally in U.S. Treasury yields and a strong dollar took the shine off non-yielding bullion. [US/] [USD/]
Indicating investor sentiment, holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, fell to their lowest level since January 2020. No inflows have been reported since late July. [GOL/ETF]
The Fed is scheduled to release the minutes of its July 25-26 policy meeting at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), which could shed more light on the path of U.S. interest rates. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Tuesday said interest rates may still need to go higher to tame inflation. Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding it.
“The main factor slowing gold’s decline is the lack of confidence in the health of the global economy with the latest data out of China adding to that negative sentiment,” Rupert Rowling, a market analyst at Kinesis Money, said in a note.
Silver rose 0.7% to $22.65 an ounce and platinum gained 0.7% to $894.27. Palladium edged 0.1% lower to $1,233.31.