ROTTERDAM/LONDON: Gold steadied on Tuesday as investors awaited policy cues from a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting, while the metal drew some support from a slight dip in US Treasury yields and the dollar.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,735.44 per ounce by 1021 A.M EDT (1421 GMT). US gold futures were up 0.2% at $1,732.90.
“Gold should have found a bottom but the big risk is the Fed, and if the Fed does not push back against the bond market, you could see that one-day of panic selling (in gold),” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
The US Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting ends on Wednesday.
The central bank is expected to reiterate its pledge to keep interest rates pinned near zero until the economy reaches full employment.
Both the dollar and benchmark Treasury yields were slightly softer.
In the next few months, rising yields could also be accompanied with stronger gold prices, as a move closer to 2% in yields could derail relentless stock market buying and see gold resume a safe-haven trade, Moya added. While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, worries over rising prices spurred by stimulus measures and a recovering economy have propelled treasury yields higher, lowering gold’s appeal, as the metal does not pay interest.
Elsewhere, palladium jumped 4.9% to $2,520.31, after scaling a one-year high of $2,520.31 earlier in the session.
“Combination of market tightness coupled with significant demand from the auto sector has conspired in a thin market to see the market fantastically higher,” independent analyst Ross Norman said.
Russia’s Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest palladium producer, said on Tuesday its 2021 metal production volumes may fall short of its original guidance due to problems with two mines in Siberia.
Silver fell 1.3% to $25.93 an ounce and platinum eased 0.2% to $1,210.24.
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