Gold prices slid lower in Thursday's trading session as investors took cautious steps ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's speech on Friday.
Examining price movements at the beginning of the European session, the yellow metal traded lower at $ 1,785 per ounce, while gold futures traded lower at $ 1,787 per ounce.
The decline in gold prices followed a modest rise recorded by the 10 -year US treasury yield which rose to 1.35%.
Investors are still in a dilemma over whether Powell will unveil his monthly asset purchase reduction plans at the Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole tomorrow.
If previously investors were confident that the Fed would implement the reduction by the end of this year as shown by the minutes of the July edition of the FOMC policy meeting, but the statement of Fed official, Robert Kaplan, made investor optimism falter again.
This makes investors more cautious in placing positions against this precious metal.
While awaiting Powell’s speech, investors will be shown a reading of U.S. economic growth data and weekly unemployment claims in advance, which will be published tonight.
