Gold Climbs On Easing Dollar, Softer Crude Prices

(RTTNews) - Gold prices advanced on Wednesday as oil prices pulled back from recent highs and investors braced for a closely watched Federal Reserve rate decision later in the day.

Spot gold jumped 0.9 percent to $4,331.73 an ounce after a two-day drop. U.S. gold futures were up 0.9 percent at $4,373.50 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar pulled back from near multi-week highs while yields on U.S. Treasuries were little changed ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later in the day.

Markets currently assign roughly a 92 percent probability to a quarter-point increase, which would lift the federal-funds target range from 3.75-4.00 percent to 4.00-4.25 percent.

That would mark the Fed's first hike since 2023 in response to a recent hot inflation report. A surprise hold or strong dovish dissent could have a materially negative impact on markets.

It remains to be seen whether the policy statement, updated projections and Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference would support market expectations for extended hikes.

Traders were also reacting to a modest retreat in crude oil prices after industry data showed an unexpected build in U.S. crude inventories and reports emerged that Saudi Arabia is offering more crude oil to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfer off Oman's Sohar port, helping ease concerns about the scale of Middle East supply disruptions.