Gold Steady as Traders Weigh Lower Oil Against Higher Yields

Gold remained relatively stable as market participants considered the impact of lower oil prices and higher Treasury yields. On Tuesday, the yield on the US Treasury's longest bond hit the highest level since 2002, signaling concerns over potential future rate hikes. As a result, gold prices, which do not pay any interest, dipped despite gaining around 1.6% the previous day.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell due to increased Middle East supply, as Saudi Arabia expanded flows via the East-West pipeline, alleviating concerns about the Strait of Hormuz. However, the conflict's impact on energy costs continues to put pressure on gold. Fed officials have indicated that further rate hikes may be necessary to combat persistent high energy costs, with some suggesting an additional rate increase "late this year" or possibly during the October meeting, before the US midterm elections.

This has reduced the probability of a rate hike at the next meeting to around 50% from 70% earlier. The release of personal consumption expenditure data and non-farm payrolls data later in the week will provide further insights into the Fed's policy direction. At the time, gold was trading at US$4,184.27 an ounce, while silver was up 0.1% at US$61.54 an ounce.

Platinum and palladium also saw slight gains. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index remained steady after a 0.2% increase the previous session.