Gold steady as dollar firms ahead of US consumer data

Gold prices held steady early Wednesday, after hitting a more than one-week low in the previous session, as the dollar firmed and investors waited for cues from U.S. consumer inflation data.

Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,280.90 per ounce at 0103 GMT. On Tuesday, gold touched a session low of $1,270.56, a bottom since Nov. 6, before recovering to gain about 0.2 percent.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $1,280.90.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, edged up 0.1 percent. The immediate focus for the dollar was data on U.S. consumer prices due later in the day.

Four of the world’s top central bankers promised on Tuesday to keep openly guiding investors about future policy moves as they slowly withdraw the huge monetary stimulus rolled out during the financial crisis.

U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday linked repealing a key component of Obamacare to their ambitious tax-cut plan, raising new political risks and uncertainties for the tax measure that financial markets have been monitoring closely for months.

U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in October, driven by a surge in the cost of services, leading to the biggest annual increase in wholesale inflation in more than 5-1/2 years.

The Federal Reserve should keep its benchmark interest rate at current levels until there is an upswing in inflation, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, one of the newest Fed policymakers Raphael Bostic said on Tuesday he still backs a December interest-rate hike and that he would need to see further weakness in U.S.inflation and local signs of economic weakness to cause him to shelve expectations for gradual policy tightening.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledged on Tuesday he was aware of contact between Donald Trump’s election campaign and Russian intermediaries, again modifying a previous statement about the extent of connections to Moscow.

The euro zone’s annual economic growth rate outstripped that of the United States in the third quarter, setting up 2017 as the best year for the currency area since financial markets crashed a decade ago.

Paulson & Co left its stake in gold investments unchanged in the third quarter, as concerns about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program helped lift bullion prices to a 13-month high, aU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed on Tuesday.

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday after weaker crude oil prices took a toll on Wall Street, while the euro kept big gains after enjoying a boost from robust German economic growth. Source: Reuters