Fed rate cut, the dollar in the crosshairs

Gold has stabilized near a four-month low on Friday, as comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reduced expectations of a rate cut to short term, leaving the bullion on the right track for a weekly fall.

The spot gold price remained unchanged at $ 1,270.71 per ounce at 0139 GMT, falling to $ 1,265.85, its lowest level since the end of December of the previous session.

Spot gold has dropped 1.2% so far this week.

US gold futures remained stable at $ 1,271.70 per ounce.

The dollar seemed poised to end the week on a firmer note Friday, as markets have tapped into a US rate cut, though everything depends on job data expected later in the health session. of the economy and wages.

A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Asian equity markets were weak on Friday due to weak holiday exchanges, as investors reduced expectations of the US rate cut this year.

On Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates steady. President Jerome Powell added that no price adjustment was needed any time soon and that inflation risks were based on transitional factors.

US worker productivity rose at its fastest pace in more than four years in the first quarter, reducing labor costs and suggesting that inflation could remain moderate for some time.

The slowdown in the global economy, stock market turbulence, late interest rate hikes and the potential weakness of the US dollar should drive average annual gold prices to their highest level since 2013, according to a Reuters poll.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell by 0.16 percent to 745.52 tons on Thursday, from 746.69 tons on Wednesday.

The total amount of unmatured swap exchanges will rise to 100 tonnes on the Turkish Central Bank's new gold swap market, according to a letter sent to lenders, bankers told Reuters.

Harmony Gold Mining 's nine – month total gold production rose 29% to 33 673 kg.