GOLD eased on Wednesday (Mar 12) on a possible ceasefire deal in Ukraine, while investors braced for a key US inflation data later in the day to gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path amid trade tensions and economic slowdown fears.
Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at US$2,912.71 an ounce as at 0046 GMT, while US gold futures eased 0.1 per cent to US$2,919.00.
The United States agreed on Tuesday to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after talks where Kyiv said it would accept a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia, the countries said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump defended his tariff policies on Tuesday as he met the CEOs of America’s biggest companies, including many whose market value has dipped in recent days as recession and inflation fears soured consumer and investor sentiment.
Trump’s tariffs are widely expected to stoke inflation and economic uncertainty, and have prompted gold to reach a record high of US$2,956.15 on Feb 24.
Gold is seen as a hedge against political risks and inflation.
Investors now await US consumer price index data due later in the day to analyse the interest rate stance the Fed may adopt going forward this year.
If rising price pressures force the Fed to keep interest rates higher, gold may lose its allure as it is a non-yielding asset.
Spot silver lost 0.5 per cent to US$32.77 an ounce, platinum rose 0.4 per cent to US$978.54, and palladium slipped 0.5 per cent to US$941.43. REUTERS
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