May 28 (Reuters) –Gold prices were steady on Tuesday, as investors maintained a cautious stance ahead of key U.S. inflation data, which could provide more insight into the Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= held its ground at $2,351.39 per ounce, as of 0110 GMT, after climbing 1% in the previous session.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were up 0.8% at $2,352.30.
* Investors are now waiting for the April reading on the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the U.S. central bank’s preferred inflation gauge, which is due on Friday.
* Traders’ bets signalled growing doubts that the Fed will cut rates more than once in 2024, currently pricing in about a 63% chance of a rate cut by November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
* Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
* China’s net gold imports via Hong Kong slumped 38% in April from the previous month, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed.
* Vietnam’s central bank will stop auctioning gold in the domestic market and launch a measure to stabilise prices of the precious metal, it said.
* The Porgera Mine in Papua New Guinea is operating without restriction, operator Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO said, adding the mine has sufficient fuel on site to operate normally for 40 days.
* Elsewhere, an Israeli airstrike triggered a fire that killed 45 people in a tent camp in the Gazan city of Rafah, prompting an outcry from global leaders who urged the implementation of a World Court order to halt Israel’s assault.
* Gold tends to perform well during an economic turmoil, with reliability that can help offset the risk of more volatile assets in conditions such as geopolitical uncertainty.
* Anglo American AAL.L was encouraged by key shareholders including BlackRock BLK.N to continue engaging in talks with BHP Group BHP.AX over its proposed 38.6 billion pound ($49.18 billion) mining merger, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.
* Spot silver XAG= rose 0.4% to $31.81 per ounce, platinum XPT= was up 0.2% at $1,056.15 and palladium XPD= gained 0.4% to $992.50.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 France Unemp Class-A SA April
1400 US Consumer Confidence May
Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips