Rebounds From Six Week Lows As Fed Chair Powell Suggests Pause

Gold remained stable during Asia-Pacific trading, maintaining its firmness from trading ahead of the weekend when traders assessed comments made by US Fed Chair Powell. Powell's suggestion of a potential pause in interest rate increases next month provided support to the precious metal.

• Furthermore, Minneapolis Fed Kashkari expressed his inclination to support maintaining interest rates at their current levels during the June meeting. He emphasised the importance of allowing officials more time to evaluate the impact of previous rate hikes and assess the outlook for inflation.
• The recent stronger closing came after a three-day decline that pushed gold to its lowest level in over six weeks. The main drivers of gold's weaker performance earlier in the week were a stronger dollar and higher yields.
• Additionally, concerns about the risk of debt default in Washington increased the demand for safe-haven assets like gold. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed scepticism about the US's ability to pay all of its bills by mid-June, further bolstering interest in gold as a safe-haven investment.