Gold prices fell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but hinted at
hikes later this year, and as investors awaited the U.S. nonfarm payroll data for cues on the health of the world’s largest economy.
Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,339.71 per ounce, as of 0831 GMT. It touched $1,332.30 an ounce in the previous session, its lowest since Jan. 23.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery were nearly flat at $1,339.00 per ounce.
The Fed said inflation is likely to quicken this year, bolstering expectations borrowing costs will continue to climb under incoming central bank chief Jerome Powell.
“We remain somewhat friendly to gold in the short-term; the dollar seems to be adrift, as investors are unsure what direction to push it,” said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
“We are detecting some sluggishness in the U.S. equity markets and so this asset class might not prove to be as formidable a competitor to gold going forward,” Meir added.
Spot gold is biased to break a resistance at $1,347 per ounce and rise towards the next one at $1,357, as it has
stabilized around a support at $1,335, according to Reuters technical analyst, Wang Tao.
In other precious metals, silver slipped 0.4 percent to $17.25 per ounce. Platinum declined 0.9 percent to
$991.00 per ounce.
Palladium edged 0.8 percent lower to $1,019.50 per ounce after falling to $1,013.72 earlier in the session, its
lowest since Dec. 18.
