By Noel John
(Reuters) -Gold prices were steady on Thursday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday for signals on the central bank’s policy direction.
Spot gold fell marginally at $3,344.66 per ounce, as of 9:43 a.m. ET (1343 GMT). U.S. gold futures for December delivery were steady at $3,388.70.
The U.S. dollar index was up 0.2%, making U.S. dollar-priced gold expensive for overseas buyers. [USD/]
Powell is expected to speak at the Jackson Hole conference about the economic outlook and the Fed’s policy stance.
“If (Powell) signals a rate decrease in September, I don’t think much will happen because the market is already expecting that,” said Marex analyst Edward Meir.
“If he says we may decrease rates again in October, November or December, I think the dollar could weaken and gold could push higher,” Meir added.
Non-yielding gold typically performs well in a low-interest rate environment.
The Fed has kept rates unchanged since December, but traders see a 79% chance of a quarter-point cut by September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting showed that Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller were the only officials pushing for a rate cut, dissenting from the decision to hold rates steady.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week, marking the biggest increase in nearly three months.
Meanwhile, Fitch Solutions’ research company BMI on Wednesday revised its 2025 gold price forecast upward by $150 to $3,250 per ounce.
“Prices will remain elevated in the coming weeks as the market braces for a U.S. Fed rate cut in September. Even then, we believe the upside for gold following the rate cut will be limited with most of it already priced in,” BMI said in a note.
Spot silver was up 0.4% at $38.05 per ounce, platinum fell 0.1% to $1,338.75 and palladium shed 1.3% to $1,100.06.
(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru;Editing by Helen Popper)
