BULLION LATEST 22/11: Gold price retreats ahead of FOMC minutes

Gold prices were slightly weaker during Asian morning trading on Wednesday November 22, with investors remaining cautious ahead of the release of the minutes from the US Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) November meeting.

November 22, 2017

The spot gold price was quoted at $1279.65-1279.95 per oz, down by $2.00 as of 12:00pm Shanghai time. Trade has ranged from $1278.95-1282.45 so far today.

Gold prices drifted lower in a narrow range on Wednesday morning with investors focused on FOMC’s November meeting minutes - hoping for some cues on the US central bank’s outlook for monetary policy.
Despite an increase in US interest rates widely expected in December, investors remain cautious on just how aggressive the FOMC will be with future rate increases.
Market participants see a 91.5% chance of the target rate rising to 125-150 basis points (bps) and 8.5% chance of increase to 150-175 bps during the US Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting on December 13, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“The FOMC minutes this evening are expected to be a non-event with no new insights into the committee’s thinking, and with a US holiday thinned second half of the week, hopes for a breakout of gold’s one-month trading range continue to fade,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said on Wednesday.

Silver, PGMs

In the other precious metals, the spot silver price was down by $0.015 to $16.950-16.970 per oz.
Platinum was $1 lower at $928-933 per oz, while palladium increased $2 to $999.5-$1,004 per oz.
On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gold for June delivery was at 279.70 yuan ($42.20) per gram, and the December silver was 3,984 yuan per kg.

Currency moves and data releases

The dollar index was unchanged at 93.94 as of 12:00pm Shanghai time.
In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price was up by 0.46% to $63.03 per barrel, and the Texas light sweet crude oil spot price increased by 1.19% to $57.72.
In equities, the Shanghai Composite was up by 0.5% to 3,427.66.
In data today, we have the United Kingdom’s autumn forecast statement, the European Union’s consumer confidence and a raft of US data including core durable goods orders, unemployment claims, revised University of Michigan consumer sentiment and inflation expectations and crude oil inventories.