Gold trades near historic $2,500 mark on Fed rate-cut optimism
Bullion hit a record high of $2,509.65 on Friday
Minutes of Fed's July FOMC meeting due Wednesday
China issues new gold import quotas- sources
Updates prices and graphics
By Daksh Grover
Aug 19 (Reuters) -Gold prices eased on Monday and hovered around key $2,500 level, as traders locked in profits following bullion's climb to an all-time peak in the previous session on expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut next month.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.3% to $2,501.03 per ounce, as of 0558 GMT, and U.S. gold futures GCcv1 edged 0.1% higher to $2,539.80.
Enthusiasm over a likely interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September propelled bullion to an all-time high of $2,509.65 on Friday. This coupled with increased geopolitical tensions and robust central bank-buying have sent bullion over 20% higher so far this year.
"Gold has been chasing the psychological $2,500 level for several months, and now that it has been reached, we are seeing some natural profit-taking occur," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst, KCM Trade.
Last week, strong U.S. retail sales print and lower-than-expected unemployment claims, along with mild inflation data, restored confidence in the world's largest economy.
Traders are confident that the U.S. Fed will cut rates next month and the focus is now on the size of the reduction. They are pricing in a 75.5% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, according to CME FedWatch tool.
"Traders will be looking towards Jerome Powell's tone and language at Jackson Hole (on Friday) to fill in some of the blanks in this regard," Waterer added.
The market will also look out for minutes of the Fed's July policy meeting on Wednesday for further cues.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose nearly 1% on Friday. COMEX gold speculators also raised net long position by 34,197 contracts in week ended Aug. 13, data showed. CFTC/ GOL/ETF
Several Chinese banks have been given new gold import quotas from the central bank, anticipating revived demand despite record high prices.
Elsewhere, spot silver XAG= fell 0.23% to $28.94 per ounce, platinum XPT= was nearly flat at $954.60 and palladium XPD= shed more than 1% to $940.67.
Spot gold price in USD per oz https://reut.rs/4cy0yWj
Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Swati Verma; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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