Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, buoyed by lower US Treasury yields, after hitting a record high in the previous session on growing expectations that the Reserve would cut rates for the first time in June.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was unchanged at $2,250.26 an ounce, as of 0059 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,265.49 on Monday.
* US gold futures were 0.6% higher at $2,270.70 an ounce.
* Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields fell, making zero-yield gold more attractive.
* The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in March for the first time in 1-1/2 years as production rebounded sharply and new orders increased, but factory employment remained subdued and input prices rose.
* The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday that underlying inflation pressures weakened in February.
* Factory activity in many Asian economies weakened in March, but there were some lighter signs in China and South Korea, surveys and data showed.
* Australia’s central bank plans to change the way it provides liquidity to the banking system, moving to a way that provides ample liquidity through regular money market operations.
* Traders estimate the odds of the Fed starting rate cuts in June at 57%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
* Spot silver rose 0.4% to $25.17 an ounce, platinum rose 0.2% to $903.50 and palladium rose 0.4% to $1,000.09.
DATES/EVENTS (GMT) 0200 US Factory Orders MM Feb. 0200 US JOLTS Job Openings Feb. TBA US US Auto sales March (Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
