Gold slightly down as investors weigh US monetary policy outlook

Gold prices saw a modest drop today, March 13, as investors awaited more data on US economic activity after annual inflation accelerated to 3.2% in February, versus expectations to remain unchanged at 3.1%.

Bullion for April delivery fell slightly by 0.10% to $2,164 an ounce at 11:50 am Makkah time, after falling by 1% at the end of Tuesday’s trading. Meanwhile, spot prices held steady at $2,158.15 per ounce.

On the other hand, silver futures advanced 0.15% to $24.43 an ounce, in tandem with a 0.78% hike in platinum spot prices to $932.70 an ounce.

The precious metal’s performance weakened over the course of today's and yesterday's sessions on the back of the unexpected increase in the US annual inflation rate in February. This suggests the possibility of the general level of prices stagnating or rising again after the recent lull in inflationary pressures.

Investors, as a result, reduced their expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut at the rate-setting committee’s next meeting in June to 67%, compared to 72% yesterday before the release of the aforementioned data, according to estimates by the London Stock Exchange Group.

Tomorrow, markets are awaiting the release of the US producer price inflation reading for February, amid projections for it to stabilize at a growth rate of 0.3% on a monthly basis, in line with the January data.