GOLD prices edged up on Tuesday (Apr 23) but hovered near a one-week low hit in the previous session, as worries over a wider Middle East conflict subsided, boosting investors’ risk appetite and lowering bullion’s safe-haven demand.

Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to US$2,333.29 per ounce, as at 0116 GMT. US gold futures were unchanged at US$2,346.70 per ounce.

Tehran downplayed Israel’s retaliatory drone strike against Iran, in what appeared to be a move aimed at averting regional escalation.

Policymakers including US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell last week backed away from providing any guidance on when interest rates might be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer.

Higher interest rates reduce the appeal of holding non-yielding gold.

Markets are also awaiting the release later this week of the March personal consumption expenditure data – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – to further ascertain the trajectory of monetary policy.

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European Central Bank officials are sticking to plans to cut interest rates multiple times this year, even as higher US inflation delays a pivot to looser policy by the Fed.

Russian metals giant Nornickel, the world’s largest palladium producer and a major producer of high-grade nickel, said palladium output increased by 3 per cent in the first quarter to 745 koz and output is seen at 2,296-2,451 koz in 2024.

Asian stocks should have a spring in their step on Tuesday, supported by a recovery in tech shares, calm in fixed income markets, and a cooling in geopolitical tensions.

Spot silver rose 0.4 per cent to US$27.31 per ounce, platinum was up 0.2 per cent at US$919.05, while palladium fell 0.1 per cent to US$1,007.58. REUTERS