FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,977.69 per ounce, as
of 0044 GMT. U.S. gold futures also fell 0.1% to
$1,981.30.
* Gold prices had shot up to their highest level since March
2022 at $2,009.59 in volatile trading on Monday before
retreating, as investors digested the impact of measures taken
by several central banks to contain a banking crisis and
stabilise global financial markets.
* Swiss lender UBS agreed to buy rival Credit Suisse on
Sunday for $3.23 billion and assume up to $5.4 billion in
losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities.
* Markets are pricing in a 53% chance that the U.S.
policymakers will hold their benchmark lending rate in the
current 4.50%-4.75% range at the end of their closely-watched
March 21-22 policy meeting.
* European Central Bank policymaker Robert Holzmann on
Monday watered down his recent call for three further
interest-rate increases of 50 basis points in quick succession.
* Gold tends to benefit from low interest rates as it
reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* The dollar edged up 0.1%, making bullion less
attractive for buyers holding other currencies.
* SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.38% to 924.55
tonnes on Monday from 921.08 tonnes on Friday.
* Spot silver edged down 0.1% to $22.49 per ounce,
platinum was flat at $988.33 and palladium was
listless at $1,413.97.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment March
1000 Germany ZEW Current Conditions March
1400 US Existing Homes Sales Feb
U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee
starts its two-day meeting on interest rates
(Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
March 21 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged down on Tuesday,
with investors looking forward to the Federal Reserve policy
meeting as expectations grew that the U.S. central bank could
pause raising its interest rates given the upheaval among banks.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.