Gold slips amid hawkish Fed, a firmer USD and Russia-Ukraine peace hopes
Gold (XAU/USD) struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish rebound from a three-week low and attracts fresh sellers during the Asian session on Thursday.
Minutes from the late July FOMC policy meeting released on Wednesday read on the hawkish side, with participants more worried about inflation than the labour market. This further tempers bets for a jumbo interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in September, which, in turn, is seen underpinning the US Dollar (USD) and exerting downward pressure on the non-yielding yellow metal.
Furthermore, the optimism over a possible agreement to end the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict turns out to be another factor denting demand for the safe-haven Gold.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's calls on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign after mortgage fraud allegations raised concerns about the central bank's independence. This might hold back the USD bulls from placing aggressive bets and support the bullion.
Traders now look to the flash global PMIs for some impetus ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
Source: FXstreet