Gold steady ahead of Fed meet, awaits clarity on fresh U.S. tariffs

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Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, ahead of a policy meeting by the U.S. central bank, while investors awaited clarity on whether a next round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will take effect this weekend.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold was down 0.1% to $1,461.05 per ounce by 0156 GMT. U.S. gold futures was flat at $1,465.40.

Palladium was unchanged at $1,881.34 an ounce. The supply-squeezed autocatalyst metal climbed to an all-time high of $1,898.50 in the previous session.

China said on Monday that it hoped to make a trade deal with the United States as soon as possible, while President Donald Trump said Washington is doing well in hammering out a trade agreement with Beijing, ahead of possible new tariffs on $156 billion worth of Chinese imports.

The dollar and yen held the safe-haven high ground on Tuesday, with investors on edge ahead of a looming tariff deadline, the UK election and upcoming central bank meetings in Europe and the United States.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting starts later in the day. The central bank is widely expected keep interest rates on hold in the range of 1.50% to 1.75%.

Investors were also looking forward to New European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde's first policy meeting on Thursday.

U.S. consumers' inflation expectations rose slightly in November, bringing the outlook for near and medium-term inflation up from a five-year low in a New York Federal Reserve survey.

Chinese soy importers bought at least five bulk cargo shipments of U.S. soybeans, after Beijing offered the buyers at least 1 million tonnes in new tariff waivers, U.S. exporters said.

Goldman Sachs has kept its 3, 6 and 12 month forecast for gold at $1,600 per troy ounces, saying investment demand will be supported by fears of recession and political uncertainty.

Silver rose 0.1% to $16.61 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.2% to $896.11.

(Reporting by Sumita Layek in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)