Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as safe-haven demand for bullion amid the Middle East conflict partially offset pressure from higher U.S. Treasury yields.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold held its ground at $2,383.29 per ounce, as of 0114 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $2,399.60 per ounce.
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hovered near the five-month highs hit in the previous session as markets re-evaluated how quickly the Federal Reserve may move to cut interest rates this year.
* Top U.S. central bank officials including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell backed away from providing any guidance on when interest rates may be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer.
* Higher interest rates reduce the appeal of holding non-yielding gold. * Israeli tanks pushed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip, while warplanes conducted air strikes on Rafah, the Palestinians’ last refuge in the south of the territory, killing and wounding several people. * Canadian miner Barrick Gold reported lower-than-expected preliminary gold production for the first quarter, hurt by planned maintenance at its mines.
* The Shanghai Futures Exchange will raise the trading limits and margin ratios of some metals futures contracts including copper and gold.
* The global economy is set for another year of slow but steady growth, the International Monetary Fund said, with U.S. strength pushing world output through headwinds from lingering high inflation, weak demand in China and Europe, and spillovers from two regional wars.
* Spot silver rose 0.3% to $28.17 per ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $952.93 and palladium was up 0.3% at $1,017.25.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0600 UK Core CPI YY March 0600 UK CPI YY March 0900 EU HICP Final MM, YY March 1800 US Federal Reserve issues the Beige Book of economic condition IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 2024
(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)