Gold steadied as investors weighed a decline in global equities, unease over lofty tech valuations and fading expectations of an interest-rate cut in the US.
Bullion was trading around $4,070 an ounce, having ended the previous session up 0.6%. A high-stakes earnings report from Nvidia Corp. due Wednesday will test investors’ nerves over stocks linked to artificial-intelligence developments. While gold often performs well when investors seek refuge from market turmoil, it can also suffer in the short term as traders are forced to unwind leveraged positions.
Comments by several Federal Reserve policymakers have also lowered expectations of a US rate cut, which would normally be a tailwind for non-yielding bullion. Interest-rate swaps now imply about a 50-50 chance of a December reduction after all but pricing in a quarter-point move just two weeks ago.
A key clue on the health of the US labor market is expected Thursday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the September jobs report. While the figures will be dated, they will help shed light on the state of the world’s largest economy after the six-week shutdown which delayed key data release.
Gold has gained around 55% this year, and is on track for its best year since 1979, despite pulling back from a record high last month. It’s been supported by elevated central-bank buying and a rush by investors to hedge against risk from sovereign debt and currencies. Global investors expect bullion to post the second-best returns next year, with only the yen a better bet among major global currencies, a Bank of America Corp. survey showed.
Fed policy will also be under scrutiny when the minutes of the Oct. 28-29 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee are released later on Wednesday. These could include insights into when it will begin growing its balance sheet through reserve management purchases. More liquidity in the financial system and a pivot to looser monetary policy will likely benefit precious metals.
Gold edged up 0.2% to $4,076.34 an ounce as of 8:25 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat. Silver traded slightly higher, while palladium and platinum inched down.
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