Gold prices set for monthly gain; traders eye Fed verdict
July 31 (Reuters) -Gold prices held steady on Wednesday and were headed for a monthly gain on rising optimism surrounding U.S. rate cuts, while focus shifted to the Federal Reserve policy verdict due later in the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= held its ground at $2,409.03 per ounce, as of 0044 GMT, and was up more than 3% for the month. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 edged 0.1% higher to $2,406.70.
* At the conclusion of Fed's two-day meeting later on Wednesday, expectations are that the U.S. central bank will hold rates steady and policymakers will lay the groundwork for a September rate cut.
* The U.S. rate futures market has fully priced in a 25-basis-point cut in September. Non-yielding bullion tends to thrive in a low interest rate environment.
* Traders will also keep an eye on the ADP employment report due later in the day and Friday's U.S. payrolls report.
* Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. job openings, a measure of labour demand, had dropped 46,000 to 8.184 million by the last day of June.
* Global gold demand excluding over-the-counter trading fell 6% year-on-year to 929 metric tons in the second quarter as jewellery consumption tumbled 19% amid high prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Tuesday.
* Spot silver XAG= was flat at $28.37 per ounce, platinum XPT= gained 0.2% to $961.12 and palladium XPD= ticked 0.6% higher at $893.93.
Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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