Gold prices steady ahead of Fed decision; weekly weakness noted
* Markets focus on Fed talks on Oct. 29 and 30
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings fell 0.5% on Tuesday
(Adds comment; updates prices)
By Diptendu Lahiri
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices were largely unchanged on
Wednesday, as investors awaited more clarity on the Brexit and
the U.S.-China trade war, while some technical buying provided
modest support to the bullion.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,489.31 per ounce as of
0622 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.3% to $1,492.40 per
ounce.
"Gold has been rising modestly on technical buying since it
fell to the $1,470 level," said Vandana Bharti, assistant
vice-president of commodity research at SMC Comtrade.
"What we see today is a continuation of that but uncertainty
over Brexit is also providing some support."
Asian shares and U.S. stock futures took a hit after
British lawmakers rejected their government's proposed timetable
for passing legislation to ratify its deal to exit the European
Union (EU). MKTS/GLOB
EU leaders should delay Brexit after Prime Minister Boris
Johnson paused legislation on his deal following a parliamentary
defeat, EU Council President Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, as
Britain spins towards a possible election to break the impasse.
On the trade war front, China and the United States have
achieved some progress in trade talks, Vice Foreign Minister Le
Yucheng said on Tuesday, adding that as long as both sides
respected each other, no problem could not be resolved.
The two major economies have imposed a series of tit-for-tat
tariffs over the past 15 months that have hit financial markets
and stirred up global recessionary fears.
Gold is perceived as a safe haven asset and is often used as
a hedge against political and economic uncertainties.
Meanwhile, Federal fund futures imply that traders see a
91.4% chance for a 25 basis point rate cut by the U.S. central
bank in its month-end monetary policy meeting. FEDWATCH
Indicative of investor interest, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the
world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its
holdings fell 0.5% to 919.66 tonnes on Tuesday from 924.64
tonnes on Monday.
"Prices are swinging between $1,490 and $1,535. Until we
break one of those two levels, we really do not a have a
direction," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at
CMC Markets.
Spot gold is biased to break a support at $1,479 per ounce,
and fall towards the next support at $1,456, Reuters technical
analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
Elsewhere, silver XAG= was down 0.1% at $17.49 an ounce.
Platinum XPT= inched up 0.1% to $892.28 and palladium XPD=
was steady at $1,755.49 per ounce.