Gold up slightly as Fed rate cut bets rise

Gold prices edged higher in Asian trade on Wednesday, but remained confined within a two-week range of $2,300 to $2,350 per ounce, according to investing.com platform.

This cautious stance comes amid ongoing speculation about the timing of a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

While spot gold rose 0.4 per cent to $2,337.35 an ounce and August gold futures climbed 0.4 per cent to $2,357.05, the yellow metal struggled to break out of the established range. This follows a recent drop from record highs set in May.

Traders remained hesitant to make significant bets on gold despite a series of weak US economic indicators fueling expectations of a Fed rate cut in September.

Disappointing job openings data on Tuesday bolstered this view, adding to concerns raised by weak purchasing managers’ index data and a downgraded gross domestic product reading.

Other precious metals

Platinum futures dipped 0.2 per cent to $995.50 an ounce, while silver futures gained 0.8 per cent to $29.863, partially recovering from Tuesday’s sharp losses.

Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange experienced a slight uptick to $9,975.50 per ton, with one-month copper futures rising to $4.5497 a pound.

However, both contracts hovered near one-month lows, having largely erased gains made in May when they briefly touched record highs.

Copper sentiment weakened on the back of lackluster economic data from the US and China, sparking fears of slowing global growth and subsequently, dampened copper demand.