Gold holds near $4,600 as investors await Fed Chair Warsh

Gold steadied around $4,600 an ounce on Friday and was set to end the week little changed as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium later in the global day for clues about the outlook for US interest rates.

Markets are currently pricing in around a 65% chance that the Fed will keep rates unchanged at its upcoming policy meeting in September.

Still, a hotter-than-expected US inflation reading strengthened expectations for a Fed rate increase before year-end, with the probability of a hike by December remaining above 70%.

Meanwhile, gold continued to benefit from the so-called debasement trade, as the US Treasury’s expanded debt buybacks heightened concerns over the risk of a US debt crisis and further dollar weakness.

On the geopolitical front, oil prices remained elevated as escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war offset signs of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.