By Noel John
(Reuters) – Gold prices edged lower on Thursday as the dollar strengthened, while investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for signals on U.S. policy direction.
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,337.95 per ounce, as of 1:47 p.m. ET (1747 GMT). U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled 0.2% lower at $3,386.50.
The U.S. dollar index was up 0.4%, making U.S. dollar-priced gold expensive for overseas buyers. [USD/]
Powell is expected to speak at the Jackson Hole conference about the economic outlook and the Fed’s policy stance on Friday.
“If (Powell) signals a rate decrease in September, I don’t think much will happen because the market is already expecting that,” said Marex analyst Edward Meir.
“If he says we may decrease rates again in October, November or December, I think the dollar could weaken and gold could push higher,” Meir added.
Non-yielding gold typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment.
The Fed has kept rates unchanged since December, but traders see a 71% chance of a quarter-point cut by September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week, marking the biggest increase in nearly three months.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department plans to investigate Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, with a senior official urging Chair Jerome Powell to remove her from the board, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
Fitch Solutions’ research company BMI on Wednesday revised its 2025 gold price forecast upward by $150 to $3,250 per ounce.
“Prices will remain elevated in the coming weeks as the market braces for a U.S. Fed rate cut in September. Even then, we believe the upside for gold following the rate cut will be limited with most of it already priced in,” BMI said in a note.
Spot silver was up 0.6% at $38.10 per ounce, platinum rose 1.1% to $1,354.20 and palladium shed 0.6% to $1,107.41.
(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Helen Popper and Vijay Kishore)
