Gold futures finished lower on Wednesday, giving back more than half of what prices gained in the previous session. The U.S. April consumer price index data were “mixed in nature,” so gold and silver saw a selloff after an initial jump in prices, said Chintan Karnani, director of research at Insignia Consultants. “There is no confirmation of the next interest rate move by the Federal Reserve,” he said. Gold for June delivery GCM23 settled at $2,037.10 an ounce on Comex, down $5.80, or 0.3% for the session.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday emphasized the importance of avoiding a U.S. default, as he delivered a speech in which he criticized House Republicans’ debt-limit bill. “If we default on our debt, the whole world is in trouble,” Biden said, as he spoke at a community college in New York’s Westchester County. While a breakthrough doesn’t appear imminent in Washington’s debt-ceiling standoff, there is increasing chatter about what could go into a bipartisan deal that ends the stalemate and avoids a market-shaking default.