Gold muted as Fed meeting looms, copper rallies on China rate cut

Investing.com-- Gold prices moved little on Wednesday after three days of losses as investors awaited more cues from the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, while copper prices benefited from an interest rate cut in China. 

Soft U.S. inflation data triggered a rally in most risk-driven markets on Tuesday, on the grounds that easing inflation gives the Fed more impetus to taper its hawkish stance.

Risk appetite in global markets also increased as China cut interest rates for the first time in 10 months, as the government sought to shore up a slowing economic recovery. 

But increased risk appetite dented the appeal of safe havens such as gold and the dollar, and kept the yellow metal trading within a tight trading range.

Gold stays within tight trading range amid Fed uncertainty

Spot gold steadied at $1,943.82 an ounce, while gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,957.00 an ounce by 20:00 ET (00:00 GMT). Both instruments sank about 1% in the past three sessions, with a bulk of the losses coming on Tuesday.

Gold has moved within a tight range of $1,930 to $2,000 for the past three weeks, amid increased market uncertainty over the economy and monetary policy. The conclusion of the Fed meeting later in the day is expected to provide more cues to the yellow metal.

While a pause in future rate hikes bodes well for gold, the yellow metal may face increased pressure as the move pushes up risk appetite. Some analysts also warned that the Fed may still hike interest rates later in the day, given that U.S. inflation remained well above the central bank’s 2% target range.

But regardless of the Fed's decision later in the day, U.S. rates are expected to remain higher for longer, which limits any upside in gold this year.

Copper hits 1-month high after China rate cut 

Copper prices steadied near a one-month high on Wednesday after an interest rate cut in major importer China pushed up hopes for a demand recovery in the country. 

Copper futures were flat at $3.8282 a pound, after rallying 2% in the prior session.

The People’s Bank of China trimmed its short-term lending rates on Tuesday, its first cut since August 2022 as it moves to further loosen monetary policy and support a slowing economic recovery in the country.

The move ramped up hopes for a China-driven recovery in copper demand this year, which helped prices of the red metal recover after a string of weak Chinese economic readings pushed prices to six-month lows in May.