By Harshit Verma
(Reuters) -Gold prices steadied near a three-week low on Monday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation data due this week to gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,938.48 per ounce, as of 1110 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,942.80.
“Today is looking extremely quiet(for gold) ahead of the U.S. CPI tomorrow. Any additional progress (in data) will be really significant especially in eliminating the possibility of another rate hike,” said Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at OANDA.
Core U.S. CPI month-over-month is expected to have risen 0.3% in October, with a year-over-year increase of 4.1%, a Reuters poll showed. Both estimated gains are the same as in September.
Higher interest rates dull bullion’s appeal, a non-yielding asset.
Gold fell 2.8% last week, and has lost over $60 as safe-haven demand cooled and as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks pushed back any expectations about interest rate cuts.
The market is pricing in a 85% chance that the U.S. central bank will leave rates unchanged at the December meeting and a 75% chance that it will introduce a cut by July next year, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The risk premium from the Israel-Hamas conflict “hasn’t fully subsided… and could easily come back at any stage but as it fades, data and economy become more prominent factors again,” said Erlam.
Traders will also look to producer price index data due on Wednesday.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.1% to 868.14 tonnes on Friday. [GOL/ETF]
Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.5% to $22.10 per ounce, while platinum gained 1.4% to $851.78.
Palladium rose 1.6% to $978.68 per ounce but was holding near its lowest level since 2018.
(Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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