Spot gold was flat at $2,338.08 per ounce, holding marginally higher than its 21-day moving average of $2,336
Gold prices held steady on Monday as investors waited for the Fed policy meeting and U.S. non-farm payrolls data due this week for policy clues.
Spot gold was flat at $2,338.08 per ounce by 0932 GMT, holding marginally higher than its 21-day moving average of $2,336.
Gold dropped by 2.2% last week amid fading expectations for early U.S. interest rate cuts this year. Investors are now only confident about a single rate cut this year, most likely in November, as per the CME’s FedWatch tool.
Gold bulls bought into last week’s weakness, protecting an elevated long established at much lower levels, according to Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Before last week’s decline, five previous weeks of growth saw gold reaching a record high of $2,431.29 on April 12, amid strong purchases by central banks and demand from Chinese retail investors amid a softer yuan currency.
A seasonal pullback in (Chinese) regional demand is probable into mid-2024, but a structurally stronger consumption trend via the retail and PBOC channel is supportive of a higher gold price floor, Citi stated in a note.
Its base case scenario sees gold reaching $3,000 over the next 12-15 months.
Markets are focusing on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting from April 30 to May 1 and the U.S. non-farm payroll data due on Friday. The Fed is seen holding its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25% to 5.5% at this meeting.
Spot silver gained 0.8% to $27.37 per ounce. The metal dropped by 5.2% last week before finding buy-side support at below the $27.00 mark, stated Frank Watson, market analyst at Kinesis Money.
