Struggling For Direction Amid Fed Policy Outlook Uncertainty

Gold is little changed in the Asia-Pac session, after closing unchanged at $2035.36 on Wednesday.

• The precious metal spiked shortly after the cash US equity open on Wednesday, which was closely linked to further concerns over New York Community Bancorp. It rose to a session high of $2044.60, however, the subsequent stabilisation for broader sentiment halted the rally. The price moderated back to unchanged.
• More generally, bullion has been struggling for direction amid a lack of clarity regarding when the Fed is likely to start easing monetary policy.
• On Wednesday, there was a continued focus on Fed speakers: Fed Kashkari popped up in morning trade positing that 2-3x 25bp cuts this year "seems appropriate". Fed Kugler said she could not close the door to policy action at any upcoming meetings, including March, “Every meeting is live". Fed Collins said waiting until 12-month inflation hits 2% for the central bank to begin cutting interest rates would be waiting too long.