By Asha Sistla
(Reuters) – Gold prices were in a range-bound trade on Thursday, as markets exercised caution over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and ahead of U.S. inflation data that could offer fresh clues about the policy stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,939.93 per ounce, as of 0517 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2% at $1,941.10.
“The war has dragged on for a long time and resolution seems close and people are looking at what the Fed has come now to speak about – they want to actually tackle high inflation, which means the interest rate is going to go up quite quickly this year … So the market is trying to digest what is going to be more pressing moving forward,” said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central.
“Gold prices have actually been range-bound for a while, we’ve seen the support at $1,917 and resistance at $1,950.”
Investors continued to assess the outlook for U.S. interest rates and awaited key U.S. weekly jobless claims data, a measure of the country’s economic health, due at 1230 GMT.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to switch certain gas sales to roubles sent European futures soaring on concerns the move would exacerbate an energy crunch and jam up deals that run to hundreds of millions of dollars every day.
Gold prices advanced to near record highs earlier this month, but then saw a steady decline heading into a key U.S. central bank policy meeting last week. They have since moved into a more steady range.
Yields on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury hit their highest in nearly three years on Wednesday, increasing the opportunity cost of holding zero-yield bullion.
Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust rose 0.4% to 1,087.66 tonnes on Wednesday – its highest since Feb. 26, 2021.
In other metals, spot silver was down 0.3% at $24.99 per ounce, platinum shed 0.6% to $1,013.57 and palladium rose 0.6% to $2,527.17.
(Reporting by Asha Sistla in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
