Gold wavers as investors weigh US strikes on Iran, await Fed minutes

Gold prices swung between gains and losses on Wednesday, as concerns around inflation and higher interest rates rose after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran lifted oil and the dollar ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes.

Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,125.59 per ounce by 0305 GMT, after dropping to its lowest since July 2 earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures for August delivery shed 0.5% to $4,136.30.

“Over the past 24 hours, there was a little bit of a scare again on the inflation front. So bonds came in lower, the dollar popped a little, gold pulled back, and now seems to be kind of stabilizing after that correction,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

“At this point, we’ve been watching gold attempt to carve out a bottom.”

The U.S. military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a licence allowing the country to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. oil prices jumped nearly 3% in early trade, U.S. Treasury yields advanced, while the dollar clung to its highest levels of the week against most of its peers as the strikes against Iran put pressure on an already fragile ceasefire.

Markets have increased their bets for a September Federal Reserve rate hike to an over 63% chance, up from about 57% on Tuesday, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Investors also awaited minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s June 16-17 meeting, due later today, for fresh clues on the interest rate path under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.

While gold is seen as an inflation hedge, high interest rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding asset.

Among other metals, spot silver rose 0.8% to $60.47 per ounce, platinum slipped 0.3% to $1,635.45 and palladium dropped 0.6% to $1,268.64.