Palladium backs off after breaching $1,550 as gold awaits US Fed

Elsewhere, spot gold was barely changed at $1,326.40 an ounce and US gold futures were steady at $1,328.50 as the dollar remained subdued.

“The market is increasingly getting fed up, listening to the trade developments,” Hansen said, adding that bullion is now looking for further direction from the stock markets and concrete developments in US-China trade relations.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump decided to delay a steep tariff hike on Chinese goods, touting progress in weekend trade talks.

The next potential impetus for the market will be Powell’s testimony on US monetary policy and the economy before the Senate banking committee later on Wednesday.

“Powell could use the opportunity to move perceptions a little bit more towards the hawkish side. In such a case, we could see modest dollar strengthening set in over the course of his remarks, likely exerting more downward pressure on gold,” INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.

“As long as geopolitical risks, concerns over global growth reaching a plateau, and speculation over the Fed taking a pause on rate hikes remain key themes, gold is insulated from extreme downside shocks,” Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, said in a note.

Silver fell 0.2% to $15.86 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.2% to $850.34, having touched $857.50, its highest since early November. 

Reuters