Gold Prices Unchanged Ahead of Fed Meeting; Sino-U.S. Trade Development in Focus

Investing.com - Gold prices were unchanged on Wednesday in Asia as traders await the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting.

While markets do not anticipate any changes to be made to interest rates when the Fed’s decision is announced Wednesday, expectations were high that the U.S. central bank will open the door to further rate hikes later this year.

Gold generally benefits from lower interest rates that reduce the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion.

Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were unchanged at $1,350.70 a troy ounce by 1:15 AM ET (05:15 GMT).

Meanwhile, markets are also paying close attention to the latest news on the Sino-U.S. trade front.

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he would meet with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, at the G20 meeting next week, raising hopes that trade discussions between the Beijing and Washington could resume.

“Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China. We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting,” Trump said in a tweet overnight.

U.S. stocks closed higher following the tweet, while Asian markets also advanced today. The safe-haven gold pared gains.

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