Gold held steady on Wednesday, with gains checked by an uptick in the U.S. dollar, as market participants looked forward to a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later this week.

Fundamentals
Spot gold was little changed at $1,746.60 per ounce, as of 0126 GMT, after rising 0.7% in the previous session.

U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,758.20.

The dollar rose 0.2% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were hovering near a more than one-month high hit in the previous session.

Focus turns to Powell’s speech at the annual global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday for more clarity on future interest rate hikes.

The U.S. central bank has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 225 basis points in total since March to contain inflationary pressures.

Data showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes plunged to a 6-1/2-year low in July, while a survey from S&P Global showed its measure of private sector business activity fell to a 27-month low, suggesting Fed efforts to tame inflation were working.

Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Business activity in the euro zone contracted for a second straight month in August as the cost of living crisis forced consumers to cut spending while supply constraints also hurt manufacturers, a survey showed.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.32% to 984.38 tons on Tuesday from 987.56 tons on Monday.

Spot silver fell 0.4% to $19.08 per ounce, platinum was steady at $879.72, and palladium rose 0.8% to $1,995.70.