Gold steady on caution ahead of US CPI, Fed meet

GOLD prices were little changed in early Asian trade on Tuesday (Dec 13), as investors maintained caution ahead of US inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

Spot gold was steady at US$1,781.66 per ounce, as of 0023 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.1 per cent at US$1,793.40.

The market’s focus now shifts to the US consumer price index (CPI) report for November that is due at 1330 GMT.

The US central bank is widely expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points at its final meeting of 2022 scheduled on Dec 13-14.

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

Seizures of smuggled gold in India reached a three-year high this year after the government raised the import duty on the precious metal and international flights resumed following Covid-19 curbs.

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Gold eases; US inflation data, Fed verdict in focus

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Goldman Sachs expects gold, with its real demand drivers, to outperform the highly volatile bitcoin in the long term, the bank wrote in a Monday research note.

Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York’s SPDR Gold Trust, rose 0.3 per cent on Friday.

Spot silver was flat at US$23.30, platinum was unchanged at US$1,001.46 and palladium ticked 0.1 per cent lower to US$1,886.38. REUTERS