Gold steadies ahead of Federal Reserve’s policy meeting

Spot gold prices steadied on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting as the market keenly watched out for the U.S. central bank’s 2025 outlook, which could impact gold’s future direction.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold steadied at $2,652.30 per ounce, as of 0028 GMT. U.S. gold futures was flat at $2,669.10.

* The Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) is due to convene later in the day for its last policy meeting of 2024.

* Markets see a 98.2% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the meeting, but have only priced in a roughly 14.7% chance of another reduction in January, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. * The Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Riksbank and Norges Bank are expected to deliver their policy verdicts on Dec. 19.
* The European Central Bank is expected to further cut rates if inflation settles at its 2% target.
* The Swiss National Bank will trim rates by 25 basis points in March and then stay on the sidelines until at least 2026, a majority of economists polled by Reuters said.
* Non-yielding gold tends to shine in a low interest rate environment and during economic or geopolitical crisis.

* On the geopolitical front, the United States on Monday hit North Korea and Russia with new sanctions that the Treasury Department said targeted Pyongyang’s financial activities and military support to Moscow.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.03% to 864.19 tonnes on Monday from 863.90 tonnes on Friday.

* Top gold consumer China’s retail sales grew 3.0% in November, down from October’s 4.8% rise.

* Traders are also keeping a tab on key data releases this week, including the U.S. GDP and inflation figures, which could further influence market sentiment.

* Spot silver was unchanged at $30.49 per ounce, platinum gained 0.2% to $937.27, while palladium eased 0.2% to $944.86.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Nov 0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Oct 0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Nov 0900 Germany Ifo Business Climate New Dec 0900 Germany Ifo Curr Conditions New Dec 0900 Germany Ifo Expectations New Dec 1000 EU Total Trade Balance SA Oct 1000 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Dec 1000 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Dec 1330 US Retail Sales MM Nov 1415 US Industrial Production MM Nov.