Gold prices tread water before central bank barrage

Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Tuesday as investors remained wary towards metal markets before a string of key central bank meetings this week, most notably the Federal Reserve. 

The yellow metal fell into a holding pattern between $2,600 and $2,700 as traders bought dollars before rate decisions from the Fed, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England this week. 

Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,654.99 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in February rose 0.1% to $2,671.91 an ounce by 23:19 ET (04:19 GMT).  Fed to headline barrage of rate decisions this week 

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday- a scenario that appears to be largely priced in by markets. 

But the central bank’s outlook on rates will be closely watched, amid growing conviction that the Fed will signal a slower pace of rate cuts in the coming year. Recent data prints showing sticky inflation and labor market strength both spurred caution over the Fed having increased headroom to cut rates slowly.

The prospect of relatively higher U.S. rates boosted the dollar in recent sessions, while dragging gold prices further off record highs. High rates pressure gold and other metals by increasing the opportunity cost of investing in the sector. 

Beyond the Fed, the BOJ and BOE are also set to decide on rates this week. The BOE is widely expected to trim rates further to help a slowing British economy, while analysts are split over whether the BOJ will hike rates again after a historic monetary policy pivot earlier this year. 

Other precious metals were muted. Platinum futures steadied at $941.35 an ounce, while silver futures fell 0.3% to $30.955 an ounce.  Copper prices pressured by China woes 

Among industrial metals, copper prices fell on Tuesday, remaining under pressure from concerns over sluggish economic growth in top importer China. 

Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.2% to $9,052.0 a ton, while February copper futures fell 0.5% to $4.1745 a pound.

The red metal retreated on Monday following middling economic readings from China, which showed that the economy was still struggling despite a slew of supportive measures from Beijing. 

While China’s copper demand has so far remained resilient, traders fear a potential slowdown due to worsening conditions in the country.

Source: Investing.com