Gold stalled near a three-month peak on Wednesday, buoyed by a softer dollar, while the market focus shifted from global tensions to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate strategy.
Spot gold was 0.16% lower at $1,775.39 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were slightly higher at $1,778.9 per ounce.
News that stoked geopolitical tensions had a limited impact on gold, Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities, said, adding there would be a lull until fresh information on U.S. inflation.
Bullion held near peaks hit on Tuesday that were the highest since Aug. 15, following reports of a missile killing two people in Poland near the border with Ukraine.
It gave up some of its gains after U.S. President Joe Biden said the weapon may not have been fired from Russia, easing concerns of a major escalation.
The cooling tensions also curbed appetite for gold’s rival safe haven the dollar, but that in turn made bullion cheaper for overseas buyers.
Gold also got a lift as benchmark 10-year yields were near their lowest since Oct. 5.
Traders took stock of data showing U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in October, while data on Tuesday showed a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. producer prices in October that had raised hopes the Fed could slow rate hikes.
Rising rates reduce the appeal of non-yielding bullion.
“It’s possible in the very near term that we continue to see this move higher resulting from short-covering but beyond the $1,850 threshold that will probably subside, and we are looking for gold prices to weaken thereafter,” Ghali added.
Silver slipped 0.31% to $21.47 per ounce, platinum fell 0.6% to $1,008.62 and palladium fell 1% to $2,076.6.