March 12 (Reuters) – Gold held steady on Wednesday ahead of a key U.S. inflation data that could help gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path amid trade tensions and economic slowdown fears, while attention was also on a potential ceasefire deal in Ukraine.
Spot gold was flat at $2,915.65 an ounce as of 0455 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,921.00.
“Gold is operating in ‘consolidation mode’ ahead of the next batch of U.S. inflation data,” KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer said.
Investors await U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due later in the day to analyse the Fed’s interest rate stance going forward this year.
If rising price pressures force the Fed to keep interest rates higher, gold may lose its allure as it is a non-yielding asset.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are widely expected to stoke inflation and economic uncertainty, and have prompted gold to reach a record high of $2,956.15 on February 24.
“I expect gold to remain a favoured asset whilst investors are concerned about tariff wars and growth slowdowns. So, the bias for gold remains to the upside due to ongoing tariff dramas,” Waterer said.
Trump defended his tariff policies on Tuesday as he met the CEOs of America’s biggest companies, including many whose market value has dipped in recent days as recession and inflation fears soured consumer and investor sentiment.
Trump reversed course on Tuesday afternoon on a pledge to double tariffs on steel and aluminium from Canada to 50%, hours after announcing the higher tariffs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said it would accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia.
Spot silver lost 0.6% to $32.75 an ounce, platinum rose 0.8% to $982.52, and palladium fell 0.3% to $943.31.
