FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,331.15 an ounce by 01:36 GMT. Prices are down almost $100 from the all-time high of $2,431.29 reached on April 12, fueled by geopolitical unrest.
* Bullion prices are down 2.5% so far for the week. * US gold futures were unchanged at $2,343.50 an ounce.
* Markets are awaiting March US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – due at 12:30 GMT.
* The U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years in the first quarter, but rising inflation reinforced expectations that the Fed would not cut interest rates until September. * Recent remarks from Fed officials suggested the central bank is in no rush to cut rates. *Higher rates reduce the appeal of holding non-yielding gold.* China’s net gold imports via Hong Kong jumped 40% in March from the previous month, data showed.
* JP Morgan said on Thursday that gold’s structural bullish scenario remains intact, with a maximum target of $2,600.
* Newmont Corp beat Wall Street estimates for its first-quarter profit as the world’s largest gold producer benefited from robust production, higher prices and lower operating expenses.
* Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan is expected to forecast that inflation will remain near its 2% target in coming years and signal that it is prepared to raise rates from near zero in the hope of preventing bears of the yen to push the currency towards a new 34-year rate. the lowest.
* Spot silver fell 0.1% to $27.40 an ounce, platinum rose 0.6% to $919.90, while palladium gained 1.1% to 984, $73.
