By Ishaan Arora
(Reuters) – Gold prices slipped on Wednesday as the dollar firmed and some investors booked profits from a more than two-week peak hit in the previous session.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $3,382.31 per ounce, as of 0811 GMT.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery eased 0.1% to $3,430.80.
The dollar index rose about 0.4% against its rivals, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders. [USD/]
“(Gold) prices are acting less like an arrow and more like a feather, with the prevailing direction of travel determined by the dollar. Current gold price weakness is likely attributable to some profit-taking after gold hit a (two-week) high, as momentum faded to the upside,” independent analyst Ross Norman said.
Bullion hit its highest level since August 11 on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook undermined confidence in the independence of the central bank and more broadly in U.S. assets, boosting safe-haven demand.
Fed Governor Cook will file a lawsuit to prevent Trump from firing her, her lawyer said on Tuesday, kicking off what could be a protracted legal fight over the White House’s effort to shape U.S. monetary policy.
“I guess market participants will await the decision of U.S. courts (regarding whether) Trump can fire Cook or not, before gold reacts more strongly,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo added.
On the data front, the focus is on the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Friday, for rate cut cues after dovish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole symposium last week.
Markets have priced in an 87% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s September 17 policy meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Non-yielding gold typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment.
Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.6% to $38.37 per ounce, platinum slid 0.7% to $1,339.52 and palladium was down 0.1% at $1,092.93.
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
