Gold prices traded in a relatively tight range on Monday, while market participants globally awaited a slew of central bank meetings with the main focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Spot gold edged 0.2% higher to $1,931.07 per ounce, as of 0717 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% at $1,930.50.
At the end of the Fed’s Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting, traders are broadly expecting the U.S. central bank to scale back its rate hikes to 25 basis points (bps) from 50 bps in December.
“Gold prices are currently consolidating into a range ahead of the Fed meet. The main focus will be on the tone that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will strike in his speech,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Gold, being a non-yielding asset, tends to benefit when interest rates are low as it reduces the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
Data on Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending fell in December, while inflation continued to subside, which could give the Fed room to further slow the pace of its rate hikes.
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) are also having policy meetings this week.
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