Bengaluru: Gold prices held steady on Thursday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair said the central bank would only gradually tighten monetary policy, curbing speculation that interest rates would rise more than once this year.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,219.06 per ounce at 0050 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.06 percent to $1,218.30 per ounce.

* The U.S. economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio, though low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.

* The dollar was capped against a basket of currencies early on Thursday after Yellen did not sound as hawkish as many had anticipated, while the Dow rose to a record high close.

* Current U.S. short-term interest rates might be too low for the Federal Reserve to address the next economic downturn, even after four rate increases since December 2015, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George said on Wednesday.

* Bank of Japan policymakers see little to cheer in successfully defending their yield target as European and U.S. central banks start to pull the plug on ultra-cheap money, casting doubt on their view that global bond yield gains will be short-lived.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he did not fault his son Donald Trump Jr. for meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential election campaign and he was unaware of the meeting until a few days ago.

* Russia's largest gold producer Polyus is buying an additional 25.1 percent in Sukhoi Log, one of the world's largest untapped gold deposits, in an all-share deal worth $145.9 million, the company said on Tuesday.

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