Gold Remains Above $1,800 As The Fed Mulls Inflation

Gold prices hovered near a six-month high on Wednesday as markets awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rate hikes and inflationary pressures, following a sharp rally in the previous session.

Inflation as measured by the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) decreased further in November, indicating that price pressures in the country have peaked and are likely to decline.

Spot gold was unchanged at $1,809.90 per ounce at 19:21 EDT, and gold futures were also unchanged at $1,820.70 per ounce (00:21 GMT). Tuesday witnessed an increase of 1.6% for both assets.

As a result of tighter monetary conditions, falling fuel prices, and sluggish economic growth, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by more than anticipated in November, to 7.1%. In addition, it was the lowest reading for inflation in a year.

The focus is currently on the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year, which is scheduled for later in the day. It is anticipated that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates by 50 basis points (bps).

However, the markets will closely watch Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting address to determine whether the central bank believes inflation has cooled sufficiently to begin further tapering its rate-hiking pace.

Given that the Fed has maintained a generally hawkish stance against inflation this year, Fed-related expectations also capped Tuesday's risk-driven market rally.

This year, the Fed's series of sharp interest rate hikes devastated metal markets, as the central bank prioritized fighting inflationary pressures. Indications of slower rate hikes are likely to benefit markets in the short term.

Other precious metals also recorded significant gains on Tuesday. Futures for platinum increased by 3.3%, while futures for silver increased by 2.2%.

Copper prices fell among industrial metals on Wednesday due to persistent uncertainty surrounding demand in China, the largest importer in the world. Copper futures per pound dropped 0.2% to $3.8407, a decrease of $0.02.

While the red metal followed the dollar lower on Tuesday, fears of sluggish demand in the immediate future limited gains.

China is experiencing its worst COVID outbreak to date, and the number of cases is expected to rise as the country relaxes its restrictions on the virus.

On the supply side, however, red metal production may tighten in the near future, particularly due to civil unrest in Peru, the world's second-largest copper producer.