By Zhang Mengying
Investing.com – Gold was up on Tuesday morning in Asia, but the moves were small. Expectations of interest rate hikes in the U.S. and Europe grew.
Gold futures inched up 0.05% to $1,844.75 by 11:15 PM ET (3:15 AM GMT). The dollar which normally moves inversely to gold, edged up on Tuesday morning.
Last week’s jobs reports raised expectations of continued tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors now await Friday’s U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for clues on the interest rate hike path.
The European Central Bank will hand down its policy decision this Thursday, joining global peers to cool high inflation.
In Asia Pacific, The Reserve Bank of Australia will hand down its policy decision later in the day, which is widely expected to deliver back-to-back interest rate hikes for the first time in 12 years.
India’s gold imports increased by 677% year-on-year ahead of a key festival and wedding session, according to Reuters citing a government source.
With high inflation dented consumers’ confidence, Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated on Monday an unwavering commitment to “powerful” monetary stimulus.
SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD), the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.3% to 1,063.06 tons on Monday.
In other precious metals, silver fell 0.42%. Platinum fell 0.93% while palladium climbed 0.27%.