Gold holds steady as investors await key fed signals

August 19, 2025 (MLN): Spot gold was up 0.1% at $3,336.94 an ounce as of [1:17 pm] PST, according to data reported by Mettis Global.

Gold prices held largely steady on Tuesday as investors awaited fresh policy cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual symposium this week, while also weighing renewed U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. gold futures edged down 0.1% to $3,375.40 per ounce.

Attention is now firmly on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium, scheduled for August 21–23 in Wyoming, which could provide clearer guidance on the economic outlook and the likelihood of policy easing.

“Gold is still consolidating and is really waiting for a new catalyst to break higher. I think the big event to watch is Jackson Hole and whether the Fed brings dovish guidance or not,” said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com to CNBC.

Market participants currently assign an 84% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s next policy meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Gold generally benefits from lower interest rates and rising geopolitical or economic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, due Wednesday, may offer additional insight into policymakers’ thinking.

On the geopolitical front, U.S. President Donald Trump assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday that Washington would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any eventual peace deal with Russia.

The pledge came a day after Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which ended without agreement.

Trump later said he had held “a very good” discussion with Zelenskiy and had initiated arrangements for a possible meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy.

In other precious metals, spot silver slipped 0.5% to $37.82 per ounce, platinum inched up 0.1% to $1,323.76, while palladium dropped 0.9% to $1,112.34.

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