By Harshit Verma
(Reuters) – Gold prices steadied on Thursday as a pushback from U.S. Federal Reserve officials on market hopes for early interest rate cuts offset safe-haven demand after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas amid continuous talks to end the Gaza conflict.
Spot gold held its ground at $2,033.56 per ounce, as of 0427 GMT. U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% lower to $2,049.00 per ounce.
On one hand, there remain enough geopolitical concerns to keep safe-haven buying on the agenda, which is limiting gold’s downside, said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, adding, but on the other hand, delays over timings on potential rate-cuts are acting as a cap to gold’s immediate upside potential. [O/R]
Fed officials want to hold off on cutting interest rates until they have more confidence that inflation is headed down to 2%.
High interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
Bullion’s downside was limited as concerns over the U.S. regional banking sector remained on table after Moody’s downgraded New York Community Bancorp to junk citing pressure on its funding and liquidity.
Gold, considered a safe-haven investment, tends to gain during times of political and economical uncertainty.
Investors will be watching out for U.S. weekly jobless claims data due at 1330 GMT after last week’s monthly non-farm payrolls report came in stronger-than-expected, showing signs of persistent strength in the labor market.
Spot palladium hit a five-year low, losing 0.2% to $893.16 per ounce.
“The demand picture doesn’t look fantastic at the moment, be it as a result of automotive industry changes (EV’s), or the industrial sector woes of countries like Germany and China. Momentum and sentiment are firmly against the palladium price,” Waterer said.
Spot silver rose 0.2% to $22.24 per ounce and platinum ticked 0.1% up to $880.05.
(Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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