Gold eases as investors await Powell's Jackson Hole speech
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Gold prices were subdued on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at a key central bankers' meeting, which will be vetted for guidance on interest rate hikes.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold edged 0.2% lower at $1,755.09 per ounce, as of 0118 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% at $1,769.2.
* The dollar index and the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields edged higher in early Asian hours. [USD/] [US/]
* Powell's speech is due at 1400 GMT on Friday at the Jackson Hole conference in Wyoming.
* U.S. Fed officials on Thursday were noncommittal about the size of the interest rate increase they will approve at their Sept. 20-21 meeting, but continued hammering the point they will drive rates up and keep them there until inflation has been squeezed.
* Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while boosting the dollar.
* The U.S. economy contracted at a more moderate pace than initially thought in the second quarter, as consumer spending blunted some of the drag from a sharp slowdown in inventory accumulation, dispelling fears that a recession was underway.
* China's net gold imports via Hong Kong jumped to a nine-month high in July, data showed on Thursday, with banks snapping up bullion as Beijing works to revive an economy hit by a resurgence of COVID cases.
* Spot silver dipped 0.4% to $19.2 per ounce, platinum rose 0.2% to $882.79, and palladium was up 0.2% at $2,151.55.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1230 US Consumption, Adjusted MM July
1400 US U Mich Sentiment Final Aug
1400 US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks
on the economic outlook before the 2022 Jackson Hole
Economic Symposium
