Gold flat as markets assess Fed's interest rate outlook
Gold steadied on Monday after eking out a narrow 0.1% gain last week, as investors assessed U.S. Federal Reserve officials' warning of further interest rate hikes ahead of a consumer inflation gauge due later this week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was mostly unchanged at $1,924.54 per ounce by 0051 GMT, while U.S.
gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,944.30.
* The dollar hovered around a more than six-month high, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were near their 16-year peak.
* Fed officials warned on Friday of further rate hikes even after voting to hold the benchmark rate steady last week, with three policymakers saying they remain uncertain the inflation battle is finished.
* Higher interest rates discourage the buying of non-interest-paying bullion, which is priced in dollars.
* U.S. business activity showed little change in September, a survey published Friday showed, while a separate survey showed the euro zone economy is likely to contract this quarter and won't return to growth anytime soon.
* The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, lands on Sept.
29.
* Investors will also be watching events in Washington, where U.S. lawmakers are haggling over a spending bill with a Sept.
30 deadline to avert a potential government shutdown.
* The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-low interest rates on Friday and its pledge to bring inflation sustainably to its 2% target.
* U.S. equity funds suffered substantial outflows in the seven days to Sept.
20, hit by worries of extended restrictive monetary policy.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell on Friday to their lowest level since Jan. 2020.
* Spot silver rose 0.1% to $23.55
