Safe-haven asset gold surged more than 1.50% in Thursday trading after the Fed cut interest rates in line with market expectations despite Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's slightly heated tone during his latest press conference.
At 9.40 am, gold prices were at $4,026, stable since it opened early Friday in Asian trading.
The Fed's 25 basis point rate cut to 3.75%-4.00% at Thursday's meeting was also met with mixed reactions from its officials, with Fed Governor Stephen Miran voting for a 50 basis point cut and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid choosing to keep rates unchanged.
Jerome Powell's latest press conference surprised the market, as he said further policy easing at the December meeting was not an easy proposition.
The hawkish tone pushed gold prices to touch $4,000 after consecutive daily declines.
Powell added that the Fed's main concern is the labor market, despite the lack of official data, the FOMC is collecting state unemployment claims and said that the jobs market remains uncertain.
He noted that some FOMC members see the next rate at a neutral stance.
However, gold's positive momentum may be capped amid US-China trade news after Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in South Korea, both agreeing to a year-long trade truce.
