Gold prices held steady Tuesday as investors await economic data later in the week for guidance on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path for this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was steady at $2,636.05 an ounce, at 0106 GMT. U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $2,647.30.
* Investors are now looking to the US jobs report on Friday, which could help shed some light on Fed policy.
* They also expect job openings data later in the day, ADP employment numbers and minutes from the Fed’s December meeting on Wednesday.
* The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since May 2024 on Monday and the U.S. dollar fell after conflicting reports about how aggressive President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plans will be when he takes office. [US/] [USD/]
* Donald Trump on Monday denied a news report that his aides were studying tariff plans that would only cover essential imports, deepening business leaders’ uncertainty about future U.S. trade policies.
* Several leading economists have rallied around the idea that Trump’s plans to expand tariffs, cut taxes and curb immigration may not prove as inflationary as analysis had predicted suggested previously. However, any effort by Trump to exert control over the Fed would pose a real risk of reigniting price pressures, they said.
* The Fed may be cautious about further rate cuts, given the strength of the economy and inflation which is proving stronger than expected, said Lisa Cook, governor of the Fed.
* Rising interest rates reduce the appeal of low-yielding bullion.
* COMEX gold speculators reduced their net long positions by 1,876 contracts to 182,384 in the week to Dec. 31, 2024, data showed. [CFTC/]
* Silver was steady at $29.94 an ounce, platinum rose 0.1 percent to $933.90 and palladium rose 0.1 percent to $921.82.
