GOLD prices were stuck in a tight range on Tuesday (Feb 13) as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of a United States inflation report that could give fresh perspective on how soon, and by how much, the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates this year.
Spot gold was flat at US$2,020.28 per ounce (Oz), as at 0134 GMT, trading in a tight range of US$3.
US gold futures were almost unchanged at US$2,033.90/Oz.
Trading volume is expected to be thin with markets in China and Hong Kong closed for the Chinese New Year holidays.
Bullion closed 0.2 per cent lower on Monday, after briefly slipping to a more than two-week low of US$2,011.72/Oz.
All eyes were on the January US consumer price index (CPI) data due later in the day. Americans reported a fairly stable outlook for inflation at the start of the year, a New York Fed survey showed.
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Wall Street economists expect the year-on-year CPI to rise 2.9 per cent, down from 3.4 per cent in the previous month, according to a Reuters poll. The core CPI is also expected to have slowed its growth on a year-on-year basis in January to 3.7 per cent, from 3.9 per cent in the previous month.
Traders see about a 62 per cent chance of a Fed rate cut in May, according to LSEG’s Interest Rate Probability app, IRPR.
Spot platinum was flat at US$888.88 per ounce, palladium rose 0.3 per cent to US$894.38, and silver was steady at US$22.70. REUTERS
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