Gold eases on dollar uptick as investors await c.bank policy cues

London (Oct 26) - Gold prices eased on Tuesday, weighed down by an uptick in the U.S. dollar and bond yields, as investors assessed central banks’ likely response to growing inflationary pressure ahead of key policy meetings due this week.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,805.06 per ounce, as of 0607 GMT. U.S. gold futures was steady at $1,806.00.

The metal rose nearly 1% on Monday to a high of $1,809.66, only about $4 shy of an over one-month peak scaled last week.

The dollar strengthened 0.1% on Tuesday, recovering from a near one-month trough hit during the previous session, dampening gold’s safe-haven appeal to holders of other currencies.

“Gold should remain relatively well-supported in the current inflationary environment until we get a definitely hawkish pivot from the Fed,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management said.

“But if inflation runs rampantly out of control, the Fed could raise rates quicker than priced in, and that should cool sentiment in the gold market,” Innes added, cautioning that the Fed also had to contend with fears over weaker growth, which could make them reluctant to aggressively tighten.

Investors have shifted focus to policy meetings of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the European Central Bank (ECB) due on Thursday followed by next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England policy meet. U.S. GDP data for the third quarter was also on their radar.

Gold is often considered an inflation hedge, though reduced stimulus and interest rate hikes push government bond yields up, increasing non-interest bearing bullion’s opportunity cost.

On the technical front, gold may test a resistance at $1,814 per ounce, a break above could lead to a gain at $1,826, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Spot silver fell 0.4% to $24.46 per ounce. Platinum dropped 0.6% to $1,051.11 and palladium was steady at $2,050.46.

Reuters