Gold holds steady ahead of Fed decision

Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as market participants braced for an expected Federal Reserve move to cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold edged 0.1% higher to $2,572.11 per ounce by 0018 GMT. Bullion rose to a record high of $2,589.59 on Monday.


* U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,598.30.

* Data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.1% in August, suggesting that the economy remained on solid footing through much of the third quarter.

* The Fed will deliver its interest rate decision at the conclusion of its meeting later in the day, with Chair Jerome Powell holding a press conference afterward. The last Fed rate cut was in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Markets are currently pricing in a 64% probability of a 50 basis point easing at the conclusion of the two-day meeting, against 43% on Friday. The odds for a 25 bp rate cut have narrowed sharply after reports revived the prospect of a more aggressive easing.

* However, most economists expect the U.S. central bank to cut rates by 25 bps on Wednesday, according to a Reuters poll, arguing that the economy is not in distress to warrant the half-percentage-point reduction being anticipated by financial markets.

* Zero-yield bullion tends to be a preferred investment in a lower interest rate environment and during geopolitical turmoil.

* On the geopolitical front, militant group Hezbollah promised to strike back at Israel after accusing it of setting off explosions across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others who included fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut.

* Spot silver edged lower by 0.1% to $30.69 per ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $982.79 and palladium was flat at $1,115.69.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0600 UK Core CPI YY Aug 0600 UK CPI YY Aug 0600 UK CPI Services MM Aug 0900 EU HICP Final MM Aug 0900 EU HICP Final YY Aug 1230 US Housing Starts Number Aug.