Gold rises as markets await US Federal Reserve meeting minutes

Gold prices rose in early Asian trading on Wednesday as yields on U.S. Treasury bonds retreated from their recent highs, with traders awaiting the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (the U.S. central bank) latest meeting.

Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $4,342.33 per ounce by 00:30 GMT, after falling about 2 percent on Tuesday. In contrast, U.S. December gold futures fell 0.6 percent to $4,396.30.

U.S. Treasury yields retreated from their recent highs and reversed course amid a global wave of bond selling that pushed borrowing costs for long-term debt in major economies to their highest levels in decades.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Washington is not holding any talks with Iran, affirming that the Strait of Hormuz remains open. This comment contradicted a previous Iranian assertion that the strait was still closed to maritime navigation.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes of its latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which is responsible for setting monetary policy, at 18:00 GMT.

Data from CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows that traders currently price in a 65 percent probability that the U.S. central bank will keep interest rates unchanged, compared to a 35 percent chance of a rate hike in September.

In other precious metals, spot silver fell 0.5 percent to $62.99 per ounce, platinum rose 0.3 percent to $1,717.03, and palladium declined 0.3 percent to $1,286.73.