Gold steady with US-China summit, MidEast developments in focus

Gold prices held steady in early Asian trade on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S.-China summit in Beijing while keeping an eye on developments surrounding the Middle East conflict.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was steady at $4,713.39 per ounce, as of 0100 GMT. U.S. gold futures for June ‌delivery gained ⁠0.7% to $4,721.80.


* ⁠U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he does not think he will need China's help to end the war with Iran, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.

* U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ⁠will discuss ‌the Iran war, and urged China to "join us in this international operation" to open the Strait of Hormuz to ⁠international shipping.

* Oil prices fell on Wednesday after three straight sessions of gains, as investors awaited developments around the fragile ceasefire in the Iran war. [O/R]

* Data showed that U.S. consumer inflation increased further in April, with the annual rate posting its largest gain in three years, further bolstering expectations the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged for a while.

* The U.S. ‌Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kevin Warsh to a 14-year term as Federal Reserve governor, marking an important step towards his succeeding Jerome Powell as ⁠the U.S. central bank's next leader.

* India has raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6% as part of efforts to curb overseas purchases of the metals and ease pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.

* Spot silver rose 1% to $87.40 per ounce, platinum slid 0.1% to $2,124.70, and palladium was up 0.4% at $1,497.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Final MM, YY Apr

0645 France CPI MM, YY NSA Apr

0900 EU GDP Flash Estimate QQ,,YY Q1

1230 US PPI Machine Manufacturing Apr