Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday
after rising nearly 2% in the previous session, as increasing
prospects of a U.S. rate cut in December countered a firm
dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,132.20 per ounce, as
of 0107 GMT. Bullion rose 1.8% on Monday to $4,139.80, its
highest since November 14.
* U.S. gold futures for December delivery edged 0.7%
higher to $4,049.50 per ounce.
* The dollar held firm near six-month highs hit last
week, making greenback-priced gold more expensive for other
currency holders.
* New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on
Friday that U.S. interest rates could fall "in the near term"
without putting the Fed's inflation goal at risk, while helping
guard against a slide in the job market.
* Investors are now pricing in an 81% chance of a Fed rate
cut in December, up from 79% a day earlier and 40% last week, as
per the CME FedWatch Tool.
* Non-yielding gold tends to do well in low-interest-rate
environments.
* Other Fed members have, however, maintained a hawkish
stance. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan called for leaving the
policy rate on hold, while Fed presidents for Chicago and
Cleveland warned that cutting rates further right now carries a
wide range of risks for the economy.
* Investor focus this week is on key economic data delayed
by the government shutdown, including U.S. retail sales, jobless
claims and producer price figures, for more clarity on the Fed's
rate-cut path.
* On the geopolitical front, U.S. and Ukrainian officials
sought to narrow the gaps between them on Monday over a plan to
end the war in Ukraine, after agreeing to modify a U.S. proposal
that Kyiv and its European allies saw as a Kremlin wish list.
* Elsewhere, spot silver slipped 0.3% to $51.24 per
ounce, platinum rose 0.4% to $1,550.10, and palladium
lost 0.1% to $1,393.66.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany GDP Detailed QQ SA, YY NSA Q3
1330 US PPI Machine Manuf'ing Sep
1330 US Retail Sales MM Sep
1500 US Consumer Confidence Nov
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Print
