Gold prices steady with focus on Ukraine-Russia, Jackson Hole

Investing.com-- Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Tuesday as traders kept to the sidelines in want of more cues on a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal, while anticipation of the Jackson Hole Symposium also spurred caution.

The yellow metal was nursing some losses from last week as markets bet that a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would herald a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a cadre of European leaders on Monday.

Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,337.31 an ounce, while gold futures for October rose 0.1% to $3,381.47/oz by 01:23 ET (05:23 GMT).

Russia-Ukraine focus helps stem some gold losses

While gold did log losses last week, it regained its footing by Monday amid growing doubts that Russia-Ukraine peace will be achieved swiftly.

These doubts were furthered by reports stating that Trump will ask Ukraine to cede territory to Russia as the terms of a peace treaty– a notion that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.

Still, Trump and European leaders were seen offering some security guarantees to Ukraine, although it was unclear what these would entail. Hostilities between Russian and Ukraine continued to take place over the weekend, despite the increased dialogue.

Trump said on Monday that he was now seeking to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which could in turn pave the way for trilateral talks. But the timeline of said negotiations remained unclear.

Broader metal prices moved in a flat-to-low range on Tuesday, facing some pressure from the dollar. Spot platinum fell 0.3% to $1,328.12/oz, while spot silver fell 0.2% to $37.9435/oz.

Among industrial metals, benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1% to $9,759.45 a ton, while COMEX copper futures rose 0.1% to $4.4780 a pound.

Jackson Hole awaited for more Fed, rate cues

The dollar caught some bids this week, helping it recover some of last week’s declines as focus turned to the Jackson Hole Symposium this week.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at the central bank event, potentially offering up more cues on interest rates amid growing speculation over a September rate cut.

Powell is expected to address increased expectations for lower rates, especially following weak prints on U.S. payrolls and consumer inflation. But unexpected strength in producer inflation, amid increased uncertainty over the inflationary impact of Trump’s tariffs, still kept markets uncertain over the Fed’s next move.

Powell has so far remained largely non-commital towards more rate cuts, with markets waiting to see whether he will shift his stance. The Fed chair is also facing increasing pressure from the White House to cut rates.