The price of %Gold is holding steady near its all-time high of $2,195.15 U.S. an ounce as the market awaits the latest interest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
While the American central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its latest policy meeting, analysts and traders will be looking for clues from Fed officials on the timing of interest rate cuts that are expected this year.
The price of spot gold is currently at $2,153.40 U.S. per ounce, down 2% from the all-time high reached on March 8 of this year. Gold seems to have found support around the $2,150 U.S. an ounce level.
Commodities analysts expect that any signals on the Fed’s plan to cut interest rates this year will drive the movement of gold’s price, either higher or lower.
Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at a news conference after the meeting will be key, with indications of rate cuts expected to push gold’s price higher, possibly to a new record.
However, with U.S. inflation coming in hotter-than-expected over the last two months, there are concerns that the Fed will delay interest rate cuts until the autumn and reduce the number of cuts it expects to make in 2024.
Higher for longer interest rates would almost certainly weigh on the price of gold, which has rallied since last December on expectations that U.S. interest rates would be moving lower.
Prices for other precious metals are trading sideways or slumping, with platinum’s price falling 0.5% to $893.50 U.S. an ounce and silver’s price holding steady at $25.14 U.S. an ounce.