Gold nears two-week high as Fed outlook, West Asia conflict stay in focus

Gold climbed to a nearly two-week high on Wednesday as technical buying lifted prices, ​while investors awaited next week's US Federal Reserve meeting for ​clues on the interest rate outlook and monitored the ongoing Middle East ‌conflict.

Spot gold rose 0.9 per cent to $4,113.73 per ounce, as of 0123 GMT, having climbed to its highest since July 10. US gold futures for August delivery jumped 1.1 per cent to $4,119.1.

Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday after threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, as a widening Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.

 

In a sign that diplomacy remains alive, Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited mediator Pakistan and asked Islamabad to continue its efforts.

Oil ‌prices climbed more than 1 per cent and were trading near their highest levels in six weeks.  

The Federal Reserve will keep its key interest rate steady for the rest of 2026 to tackle a five-year-long inflation problem, according to the median forecasts of economists in a Reuters poll.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he and US President Donald Trump agreed to intensify trade negotiations after speaking on Tuesday, but ​warned he would consider all options if the tariffs Trump threatened on Monday go ahead.

Two ‌senior Howden brokers gave evidence in a private London hearing after a US court sought their testimony for use in litigation over a disputed insurance ​claim stemming ‌from losses at Newmont Corporation's Ahafo gold mine in Ghana, court documents show.

Sibanye ‌Stillwater said on Tuesday it is appealing against a recent United States International Trade Commission ruling that imports of Russian palladium do not pose an imminent threat ‌to ​US production of ​the metal.

Elsewhere, spot silver gained 1.8 per cent to $59.82 per ounce, platinum added 1.6 per cent at $1,655.61 and palladium rose 1.6 per cent to $1,302.25.