Gold prices stable before release of US Federal Reserve minutes

Gold prices remained almost unchanged on August 16 morning, as investors are cautious ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) protocol, Report informs referring to the auction data.

The price of December futures for gold on the New York Comex exchange rose by $0.45 (0.02%) to $1,935.65 per troy ounce. September silver futures rose 0.05% to $22.668 an ounce.

Later in the course of trading, minutes of the July meeting of the Fed will be published. The document may contain hints on the further monetary policy of the regulator. The latest macroeconomic data indicate that annual inflation in the US in July accelerated to 3.2%, and retail sales in the country in July rose stronger than expected in June.

In July, the regulator expectedly raised the rate by 25 basis points, to 5.25-5.5% per annum. Now, according to CME Group, 90.5% of analysts expect it to remain in September, and at the end of the year, 29.8% of experts allow it to be at the level of 5.5-5.75%.

Gold is sensitive to the Fed’s discount rate signals. This affects the dollar exchange rate, which in turn affects the value of the precious metal.