PRECIOUS-Gold steady as market awaits Fed policy meeting

* Palladium retreats from all-time high hit on Monday
* BOJ keeps monetary policy steady, cuts price outlook

(Updates prices)
By Shreyansi Singh
April 27 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Tuesday as market
awaits a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for cues on its monetary
policy outlook, while a firmer dollar weighed on the metal's
appeal.
Spot gold XAU= was flat at $1,780.86 per ounce by 0724
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 were little changed at $1,780.70
per ounce.
"We're starting to see a bit of a perking up of the U.S.
dollar and bond yields as well," DailyFX currency strategist
Ilya Spivak said.
The dollar .DXY edged up, making gold less alluring for
other currency holders, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury
yield US10YT=RR held close to the 1.570% level.
While no major policy changes are expected from the Fed's
two-day policy meeting ending on Wednesday, investors will pay
close attention to Chairman Jerome Powell's outlook on the
economy.
The Fed slashed its benchmark overnight interest rate to
near zero last March after the pandemic hit the United States,
and has promised to leave borrowing costs unchanged until the
economy reaches full employment and inflation hits 2%.
"The most likely scenario that markets are looking for is a
status quo result," Spivak said, adding that, "the Fed is going
to have a hard time sounding any more dovish than they already
have been."
The Bank of Japan maintained its massive stimulus on Tuesday
and projected inflation missing its 2% target for years to come,
while new restrictions to counter a surge in COVID-19 cases
clouded prospects of a fragile economic recovery. Palladium XPD= edged 0.1% lower to $2,924.67 per ounce,
after scaling an all-time high of $2,941 on Monday.
"Pent-up demand in the auto sector is likely to fuel strong
demand for PGM (Platinum Group Metals)-rich catalytic converters
amid rising restrictions on emissions," ANZ analysts wrote in a
note.
Silver XAG= fell 0.2% to $26.17 per ounce. Platinum XPT=
was down 0.3% at $1,240.01.