Gold Down, Remains Below $1,800-Mark, Prior to Fed Policy Decision
By Administrator_ India
Gold was down on Tuesday morning in Asia. Investors were cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision later in the week for clues over when the central bank will adopt a more hawkish tone.
Gold futures edged down 0.11% to $1,797.25 by 12:49 AM ET (4:49 AM GMT), remaining below the key $1,800 mark. The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched down on Tuesday. However, the greenback remained just below recent peaks and has been rising broadly for more than a month.
Fed officials will begin a two-day meeting later in the day, with the policy decision to be handed down on Wednesday. The central bank is likely to affirm that a strong U.S. recovery and plans for an eventual policy shift are both ongoing.
In Asia, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda will speak later in the day.
Despite strong economic growth prospects for 2021 into 2022, the surging number of global COVID-19 cases involving the Delta variant continues to pose the biggest threat to that outlook.
Net gold imports of gold into China, the biggest bullion consumer globally, via Hong Kong jumped nearly 42% in June after a slump in May, according to data released on Monday.
SPDR Gold Trust holdings fell 0.2% to 1,025.64 tons on Monday, its biggest loss since May 13. It has seen outflows of about 20 tons for the month of July to date.
Silver inched down 0.1% in other precious metals and palladium fell 0.4%, while platinum was flat at $1,063.93.
