Gold prices steady ahead of key economic data release

Gold prices stabilized today, Jan. 25, as investors await the release of the preliminary reading of the US gross domestic product (GDP) later in the day, coupled with the results of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.

Bullion for February delivery remained flat at $2,016.10 an ounce at 11:05 am Makkah time, while spot prices increased slightly by 0.10% to $2,015.81 per ounce.

Similarly, silver futures for March delivery held steady at $22.89 an ounce, in tandem with a 0.16% hike in platinum spot prices to $904.88 per ounce.

"The U.S. economy keeps defying the doom and gloom and that's allowed the markets to price out policy easing and the risk of a recession," said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com, Reuters reported.

Investors expect the ECB to keep the interest rate at 4.5% at today’s policy meeting. They also anticipate a pullback in the growth pace of the US economy to 2% on a seasonally adjusted annual basis in Q4 2023, after climbing by 4.9% in the previous quarter.