June 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices were little changed on Thursday as heightened geopolitical tensions offset pressure from the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance, while platinum slipped after scaling its highest level since September 2014.
The U.S. market will remain closed today in observance of Juneteenth.
Spot gold was down 0.1% at $3,365.79 an ounce at 0940 a.m. EDT (1340 GMT). U.S. gold futures fell 0.7% to $3,382.80.
The U.S. dollar ticked up, making greenback-priced metals more expensive for other currency holders.
"The U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that inflation risk remains high. So that reduces the chances of resuming the interest rate cuts, which is weighing on gold prices," said ANZ Commodity Strategist Soni Kumari.
The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday and policymakers still forecast cutting rates by half-a-percentage point this year, but have slowed their overall outlook for rate cuts in response to a more challenging economic outlook.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned against putting too much weight on this outlook, warning of "meaningful" inflation ahead as higher import tariffs loom.
On the geopolitical front, Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital overnight, as the week-old air war escalated with no sign yet of an off-ramp.
Gold is considered a safe-haven asset during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. But a higher interest rate environment dulls its appeal as it yields no interest.
In other metals, platinum lost 3.7% to $1,269.30, after rising to its highest level since September 2014 earlier in the session.
"When a sharp rally breaks a key technical level like 1,000, it often triggers buying from both investors and speculators. However, such swift price moves are typically not rooted in fundamentals and carry a high risk of profit-taking," Kumari added.
Palladium lost nearly 1.1% to $1,038.56, while silver fell 1.4% to $36.21 per ounce.
Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sarah Qureshi; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Louise Heavens and Andrea Ricci
