• Gold price hovers below $2,300 as uncertainty ahead of the Fed’s policy announcements improves the appeal of the US Dollar and bond yields.
• The Fed is expected to support keeping interest rates at their current levels for a longer period.
• The strong US Q1 Employment Cost Index adds to evidence of the stubborn inflation outlook.

Gold price (XAU/USD) trades close to a more than three-week low around $2,285 in Wednesday’s European session. The precious metal weakens as the US Dollar and bond yields strengthen amid firm speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will opt for maintaining a restrictive interest rate environment for a longer period due to inflation remaining persistently higher than expected in the first quarter of the year.

In this context, 10-year US Treasury yields move higher to 4.69%. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US Dollar’s value against six major currencies and is negatively correlated to the Gold price, jumps to a two-week high of around 106.50. The US Dollar remained on the backfoot last week after weak growth in Q1 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) raised concerns over the country’s economic outlook. However, it bounced back strongly on Tuesday after the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported strong Q1 Employment Cost Index numbers.

The US Employment Cost Index is generally driven by a strong wage growth environment in which labor demand remains strong. The index rose by 1.2% in the first quarter, against the consensus of 1.0% and the prior reading of 0.9%. It is another indication that price pressures have remained hot in the January-March period.