Gold holds below key US$1,800 level as investors eye Fed meet

[BENGALURU] Gold prices were steady on Tuesday, pinned below the key US$1,800 per-ounce level, as investors turned cautious ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve meeting outcome for clues on when the central bank might rein in its easy monetary policies.

Spot gold was flat at US$1,798.61 per ounce, as of 1.08am GMT.

US gold futures fell 0.1 per cent to US$1,797.80 per ounce.

The dollar index was steady and hovered just below recent peaks on Tuesday. The greenback has been rising broadly for more than a month as markets are wary of the Fed starting to taper its monetary support.

Fed officials are likely to affirm after their two-day meeting that a strong US recovery and their planning for an eventual policy shift both remain underway.

Large stimulus measures tend to support gold, which is often considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement.

According to a Reuters poll, global economic growth prospects are holding strong for this year and next, however, majority of economists warned new variants of the coronavirus pose the biggest risk to that outlook.

Net gold imports of gold into the world's biggest bullion consumer China via Hong Kong jumped nearly 42 per cent last month after a slump in May, data showed on Monday.

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.2 per cent to 1,025.64 tonnes on Monday, the lowest since May 13. The ETF has seen outflows of about 20 tonnes so far in July.

Silver fell 0.1 per cent to US$25.14 per ounce, palladium was down 0.4 per cent at US$2,647.85, while platinum was flat at US$1,063.93.

REUTERS