Gold holds steady as cenbanks' policy verdicts loom
Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday, as traders cautioned to take position ahead of interest rate decisions from a number of central banks and a slew of economic data in the United States.
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FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold edged 0.1% lower to $2,019.89 per ounce by 0154 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures also fell 0.1% to $2,021.00.
* The U.S. dollar index was steady for the day, and not too far from a more than one-month high of 103.69 last week.
* Japanese shares hit fresh 34-year highs, hoping the Bank of Japan will not rock the boat by pivoting away from its super easy policy any time soon, while Chinese stocks extended declines after a brutal session.
* Elsewhere, the European Central Bank (ECB) meets on Thursday and is expected to hold monetary policy steady.
* Federal Reserve officials last week said the U.S. central bank needs more inflation data in hand before any rate cut judgment could be made and that the baseline for cuts to start was in the third quarter.
* Fed officials are in blackout this week ahead of the next meeting on Jan. 30-31, where they are expected to hold rates steady.
* Traders priced in 134 basis points (bps) of rate cuts for this year, down from 150 bps two weeks ago, according to LSEG's interest-rate probability app IRPR.
* Investors will also be watching out for U.S. flash PMI report on Wednesday, fourth-quarter advance GDP estimates due on Thursday and personal consumption expenditures data on Friday.
* Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
* Spot silver fell 0.2% to $22.05 per ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $893.64, and palladium fell 0.3% to $933.64.
