Gold flat as investors focus on Fed minutes
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Gold prices were flat on Wednesday as investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting for fresh cues on when the U.S. central bank will start cutting interest rates.
Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $2,329.66 per ounce, as of 0152 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 0.2% to $2,338.70.
The gold market has been steady and holding in a narrow range for a few weeks now, said Marex analyst Edward Meir, adding that bullion prices might move higher later this year with all these elections up in the air.
Ahead of the release of the Fed minutes at 1800 GMT, Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the United States was back on a "disinflationary path", but policymakers needed more data before cutting rates to verify that recent weaker inflation readings provided an accurate picture of the economy.
Next on investors' radar are the ADP employment and weekly jobless claims data scheduled to be released later in the day, and the nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report due on Friday.
"The NFP release this week could shake things up (for the gold market) if we see a shift in rate-cut expectations," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
"The jobs figures this week will tell the story as to whether we are looking at a potential September or November rate cut."
Traders are currently pricing in about a 67% chance of a Fed rate cut in September, according to CME FedWatch Tool.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Meanwhile, a private-sector survey showed that China's services activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months and confidence hit a four-month low in June.
Among other metals, spot silver rose 0.3% to $29.60 per ounce, platinum climbed 0.6% to $996.70 and palladium declined 0.5% to $1,016.34.
