Gold slips as dollar strengthens ahead of US Fed meeting

Gold prices edged down slightly in early Asian trading on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened, while investors awaited this week’s US Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the future path of interest rates.

Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to $4,013.70 per ounce by 00:45 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $4,027.10.

A stronger dollar reduces the appeal of dollar-priced gold for holders of other currencies.

Federal Reserve policymakers have indicated they are unlikely to raise short-term US borrowing costs again this week, but ongoing inflation concerns have led investors to believe the pause in rate hikes may be short-lived.

Markets are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday, along with personal consumption expenditure data on Thursday—a key inflation gauge closely watched by the central bank as it targets a 2 percent inflation rate.

Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.1 percent to $53.97 per ounce, platinum was steady at $1,527.81, and palladium slipped 0.7 percent to $1,042.43.