FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold held its ground at $2,377.48 per ounce, as of 0113 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of 2,449.89 on Monday.
* U.S. gold futures were down 0.6% at $2,378.20.
* Federal Reserve officials indicated that it would take longer than previously anticipated to gain greater confidence in inflation moving to 2%, according to the minutes of the U.S. central bank’s April 30-May 1 session.
* Recent data suggested that U.S. inflation resumed its downward trend, but several Fed policymakers remained cautious on cutting rates too soon but ruled out the need for a hike.
* Traders’ bets signalled growing doubts that the Fed will cut rates more than once in 2024.
* Bullion is known as an inflation hedge, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
* Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he does not expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year.
* Asian markets could be delicately poised at the open, with growing worries over how soon U.S. and global interest rates will come down offset by a potential boost from AI and chip-making giant Nvidia’s earnings late on Wednesday.
* Shares of global miner BHP Group fell more than 3%, a day after smaller rival Anglo American rejected its third takeover proposal and agreed to a one-week extension for the deadline to make a binding offer.
* Spot silver fell 0.7% to $30.56 per ounce, platinum was down 0.4% at $1,031.04 and palladium lost 1.5% at $985.00.
