UAE: Gold prices up as investors eye cues from US Fed minutes

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Gold prices were up on Wednesday morning ahead of the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last policy meeting later in the day that could offer clues on further interest rate hikes.

Spot gold was up at $1,778.73 per ounce, up 0.17 per cent as of 9.13 am UAE time.

In the UAE, the precious metal price rose half a dirham per gram on Wednesday.

The 24K gold price opened at Dh215.5 per gram, up by half a dirham. While 22K, 21K and 18K were trading at Dh202.5, Dh193.25 and Dh165.5 per gram, respectively.

Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda, said gold prices are struggling as global bond yields surge across the board.

“Treasury yields jumped after the latest housing starts data disappointed. The housing market is cooling as the starts data falls to a new 17-month low, which will be well received by the US Federal Reserve. The Fed can continue with their aggressive rate tightening schedule as it is working,” he said.

“All eyes will be on the Fed’s Minutes which will likely confirm we need to see the next labour and inflation data before making the call that the Fed can go at a slower pace of tightening. Gold will probably remain rangebound until it is clear which way market expectations lean towards, either a half-point increase or another 75-basis point raise,” added Moya.