Gold price edges lower on bleak interest-rate outlook

NEW YORK (May 22) Gold price (XAU/USD) trades lower by about a quarter of a percent in the $2,410s on Wednesday as a shift in the outlook for interest rates – both in the US and globally – weighs on the precious metal. 

Recent comments from US Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers repeated the mantra that insufficient progress had been made in bringing inflation down to the Fed’s 2.0% target to warrant a lowering of interest rates. 

Their views weighed on the Gold price which, as a non-yielding asset, tends to perform poorly when interest rates are high due to the increased opportunity cost of holding Gold.

Gold price pulls back ahead of Fed Minutes  

Gold price might be further impacted when the Fed releases the FOMC Minutes from its latest policy meeting on Wednesday at 18:00 GMT. 

If the meeting minutes reflect a shift to a more hawkish stance amongst policymakers, Gold is expected to continue retreating. 

The recent Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting Minutes revealed that officials at the RBA had discussed the possibility of raising rates – a notable shift in stance from previous meetings. 

FXStreet