GOLD prices were flat on Thursday (May 30), as investors awaited a key US inflation reading that could provide further insights into the Federal Reserve’s policy path.
Spot gold was unchanged at US$2,338.04 per ounce, as at 0125 GMT, after falling 1 per cent in the previous session.
US gold futures were down 0.2 per cent at US$2,358.30.
US economic activity continued to expand from early April to mid-May but firms grew more downbeat about the future amid weakening consumer demand while inflation continued to increase at a modest pace, a Fed survey showed, as central bankers mull how long they will need to keep interest rates at current levels.
Investors are now awaiting the April reading on the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Friday.
Traders’ bets signalled growing scepticism that the Fed will cut rates more than once in 2024, currently pricing in about a 61 per cent chance of a rate cut by November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
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Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
Goldman Sachs remains selectively bullish on commodities, it said in a note, citing solid demand growth, expectations of more structural upside in industrial metals and gold.
India’s silver imports in the first four months of the year have already surpassed the total for all of 2023, government and industry officials said.
Global mining group BHP walked away from its US$49 billion plan to take over rival Anglo American, which rejected a last-ditch request for more time, ending for now its six-week pursuit.
Spot silver rose 0.2 per cent to US$32.03 per ounce, platinum was up 0.5 per cent at US$1,040.55 and palladium lost 1.3 per cent to US$952.50. REUTERS
