Gold Steadies Below $4,000 as Fed Remarks Parsed for Rate Clues

Gold steadied as traders digested commentary from Federal Reserve policymakers for clues on the bank’s next move on interest rates.

Bullion was little changed below $4,000 an ounce, after swinging between gains and losses on Monday. Fed Governor said she saw the risk of further labor-market weakness as greater than the risk that inflation will pick up, but stopped short of endorsing another rate cut next month. Her comments echoed remarks from two of her colleagues, Mary Daly and Austan Goolsbee.

The precious metal rallied to a record midway through last month, before slumping amid concerns that the commodity’s advance had been too swift. Traders are seeking to gauge whether the upswing will resume, with part of the outlook shaped by the Fed as easier US monetary policy makes non-yielding gold more attractive. After delivering two recent rate cuts, policymakers gather next month for their final scheduled meeting of the year.

Gold ended little changed on Monday after on Saturday that some retailers would no longer be able to fully offset a value-added tax on inputs when selling some products. The move has clouded the outlook for demand as it remains unclear what the regulation will look like in practice.

Gold was little changed at $3,996.32 an ounce at 8:13 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after ending on Monday at the highest level since July. Silver and palladium edged lower, while platinum was steady.