FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was unchanged at $2,334.92 an ounce at 0124 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $2,346.00 an ounce.
* Bullion prices have gained 4.6% so far this month.
* Markets are focused on the Fed’s two-day policy meeting starting later today and nonfarm payrolls data due Friday. The Fed is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25% to 5.5% at the meeting.
* With inflation showing no recent signs of slowing or narrowing its reach, Fed policymakers are grappling this week with how to characterize their next steps. * A higher-than-expected consumer price inflation report for March prompted traders to lower their expectations for a Fed rate cut. * Higher interest rates reduce the attractiveness of holding bullion without yield. * Analysts have raised their gold price forecasts for 2024, expecting latent geopolitical issues to prompt investors to seek refuge in the safe-haven asset and further boost record prices as central banks strengthen their reserves.
* Analysts and traders have lowered their price forecasts for platinum and palladium in 2024 due to weak demand from the automotive sector, but they still expect platinum prices to rise in 2025, according to a Reuters poll.
* Spot silver fell 0.1% to $27.09 an ounce, platinum rose 0.6% to $952.45, while palladium lost 0.2% to 972, $68.
