Gold Holds Above $4,100 an Ounce as Markets Await Next Week's Fed Meeting
Spot gold held above $4,100 an ounce in Asian trading on Tuesday, October 20, after falling about 0.6 percent in the previous session, as market participants looked ahead to next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting. Reuters reported spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $4,145.22 an ounce by 0347 GMT, with US gold futures for December delivery up 0.1 percent at $4,164.70. Bloomberg data showed bullion at $4,134.91 an ounce at 7:47 a.m. in Singapore, with silver at $56.93.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is scheduled to meet on October 27-28. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, traders are pricing in about an 82 percent chance the Fed leaves rates unchanged next week, Reuters reported, while Bloomberg reported traders still see roughly a 90 percent probability of another rate increase by the end of the year. Bloomberg also reported that Chair Kevin Warsh signalled support for keeping rates on hold ahead of the pre-meeting communications blackout, pushing bets on a quarter-point hike next week below 20 percent, from as likely as two-in-three late last month.
Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, told Reuters there is likely to be a big move no matter what the Fed does, and that holding rates steady could initially support gold; he added that a de-escalation of Middle East tensions and lower oil prices could also help bullion. Bloomberg data showed gold has generally held above $4,100 so far in October, after a decline of more than 6 percent the previous month.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：金条资料图，Stevebidmead 摄，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Gold bars (file photo), by Stevebidmead, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
