GOLD prices held steady above the key US$1,900 per ounce level during early Asian hours on Tuesday (Jan 17), buoyed by hopes of slower interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was unchanged at US$1,917.24 per ounce, as of 0034 GMT. On Monday, prices hit US$1,929, the highest since late April 2022.

US gold futures were little changed at US$1,920.80.

Investors are mostly expecting a 25 basis points (bps) rate hike increase at the Fed’s next policy meeting. The US central bank raised rates by 75 bps four times last year, before slowing to a 50 bps increase in December.

Lower rates tend to be beneficial for bullion as they decrease the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

Meanwhile, China’s economy is expected to have slowed sharply in the fourth quarter due to stringent Covid curbs, dragging down 2022 growth to one of its worst in nearly half a century.

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Spot silver inched 0.5 per cent lower to US$24.27, platinum fell 0.1 per cent to US$1,061.77 while palladium rose 0.5 per cent to US$1,759.67. REUTERS