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Gold wavered as traders looked ahead to potential interest-rate signals from the Federal Reserve’s annual gathering in Jackson Hole, as well as high-stakes diplomacy in Washington over efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Bullion traded in a narrow range over the past few sessions. Central bankers from around the world will gather at the retreat in Wyoming starting Friday, with markets largely expecting a reduction in US rates at the Fed’s policy meeting next month.
The Fed’s Raphael Bostic said after a tour of the southeastern US that he’s open to adjusting rates soon, citing strains from Donald Trump’s import tariffs and high borrowing costs squeezing business profits. Lower rates typically benefit gold because the precious metal doesn’t bear interest.
“Markets increasingly expect the Federal Reserve to strike a more dovish tone at the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium, with traders largely looking past last week’s slightly firmer US inflation print,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova in Singapore. “The broader market view is that inflationary pressures remain on a cooling path.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his European allies were arriving at the White House to meet with Trump following his summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin last week, amid apprehension that he’ll try to force Kyiv into making unpalatable concessions.
Any signs of a ceasefire could ease demand for the precious metal as a haven.
Gold has rallied by more than a quarter this year, reaching a record in April. Since then, prices have tracked sideways, with investors following the fallout from the US-led trade war, concerns over the strength of the global economy and geopolitical tensions. Central-bank buying has also helped to support bullion.
Gold was little-changed at $3,333.06 an ounce as of 12:37 p.m. in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up 0.2%. Silver, platinum and palladium edged higher.
(By Yihui Xie)