Gold rangebound in cautious trading ahead of Fed meet minutes

Gold

Gold prices were rangebound on Wednesday in cautious trading ahead of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting minutes due later in the day.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,927.99 per ounce by 0952 GMT, trading in a $8 range, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,935.50.

"To a large extent, the market has already priced in expectations of higher for longer interest rates at this point," said Edward Gardner, commodities economist at Capital Economics, adding bullion might still not move significantly after the Fed minutes.

The FOMC will issue minutes from its June 13-14 meeting at 1800 GMT, while a key jobs report later in the week will provide more clues on the central bank's rate outlook.

Higher interest rates discourage investing in gold, which is seen as a safe investment during economic uncertainties, as it does not pay interest.

Investors now are pricing in an 86% chance of a 25 basis point hike, with rate cuts seen from 2024, per CME's Fedwatch tool.

Meanwhile, global shares fell on fresh signs of China's faltering economic recovery. [MKTS/GLOB]

Additionally, euro zone business activity contracted last month in a broad-based downturn across the bloc's dominant services industry and a deepening decline in factory output.

Markets also watched for updates on China's export controls on semiconductor metals as it ramps up a tech fight with the U.S. days before U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits Beijing.

"Generally the point is that geopolitical fracturing is a reason for gold demand to be supported in the coming years …I think that really feeds into our view that gold won't fall too far below $1,850 at the end of this year," Gardner added.

Spot silver fell 0.3% to $22.88 per ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $915.94 while palladium was down 0.5% to $1,236.46.