· Gold prices were little changed on Thursday, holding above the key$1,500 an ounce level, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve chair’s speech at a global central bankers’ conclave for clues on future U.S. interest rate cuts.
Spot gold inched down 0.1% to $1,500.14 per ounce by 0426 GMT.
U.S. gold futures were down 0.4% at $1,510.10 an ounce.
· “We are seeing a holding pattern until the remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium, ” OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said.
If Powell says they are going to cut rates aggressively, that may not be great for gold in the short-term since equities will gain, Halley added.
· Markets are now focused on Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday, for clarity on the direction of U.S. monetary policy, especially after an inversion in the Treasury yield curve highlighted the risk that the U.S. economy may fall into recession.
Minutes of the Fed’s July meeting, released on Wednesday, showed policymakers were divided over whether to cut interest rates, but were united in wanting to signal they were not on a preset path to more easing.
However, futures are still fully priced for a quarter-point cut in rates next month, and over 100 basis points of easing by the end of next year.
· Traders are also looking at the Group of Seven summit this weekend for clues on what additional steps policymakers may take to boost economic growth.
Meanwhile, hopes for U.S. fiscal stimulus got a knock when President Donald Trump reversed course and said he was not looking at cutting payroll taxes.
· Minutes from the European Central Bank’s last policy meeting are also awaited, and markets are looking for more details on exactly when and how aggressively it might ease policy.
· Spot gold may rise to $1,524 per ounce as it has found a support at$1,497, according to Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
· SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.80% to 851.91 tonnes on Wednesday.
The holdings have increased about 3%, or around 24 tonnes, so far this month.
· Gold technical analysis: Trapped in a symmetrical triangle
Gold is trapped in a narrowing price or a symmetrical triangle pattern, according to the 4-hour chart.
The yellow metal rose to a six-year high of $1,535 per Oz on Aug. 13and has charted lower highs and higher lows ever since.
A triangle breakdown would mean a temporary top has been made and could yield a drop to $1,480 (Aug. 13 low). A violation there would expose the former resistance-turned-support at $1,453.
The recent high of $1,535 could come into play if the symmetrical triangle ends with a bullish breakout, although, as of now, the probability of Gold breaking lower appears high, courtesy of the bearish crossover of the 5- and 10-day MAs and the daily moving average convergence divergence (MACD) histogram's drop below zero.
· Elsewhere, silver fell 0.3% to $17.06 per ounce, while platinum was down 0.6% to $847.89.
Palladium fell 0.5% to $1,463.89 per ounce.
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