Investing.com – Gold prices edged up on Wednesday while the dollar remained unchanged, as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell due later in the day.
for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 0.2% at $1,203.5 a troy ounce by 1:12 AM ET (06:12 GMT).
The that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was unchanged at 96.98.
Powell will speak later in the day, reports citing analysts said Powell might attempt to calm concerns about the Fed hiking rates too fast.
The Fed indicated earlier this month that it is still on course to hike interest rates in December.
Interest rate increases and higher U.S. bond yields are usually bearish for gold, which offers no yield. They also tend to boost the dollar, in which gold is priced.
“There has been some stalling in the U.S. dollar, the rise has eased helping gold to pick up,” said John Sharma, an economist with National Australia Bank (NAB).
A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.
“We are seeing investors and speculators snapping up gold because gold has the potential to go up to $1,230 to $1,240,” Sharma added.
Meanwhile, analysts believed improved sentiment around a potential Brexit deal helped push the safe-haven dollar down.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will present a draft text of a Brexit withdrawal agreement to her senior ministers later in the day after both the UK and EU reached consensus on the Brexit divorce deal.
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Source: Investing.com