Investing.com - Gold held mostly steady in Asia on Thursday with central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan next week setting a high-stakes stage for markets.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged between gains and losses and was last quoted flat at $1,326.05 a troy ounce.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery fell 0.18% to $19.032 a troy ounce. Copper futures gained 0.09% to $2.154 a pound.
The Bank of Japan's September 21 decision was bumped up a notch in market eyes on a report Wednesday suggesting a further move on negative interest rates could be announced on the same day the Federal Reserve decision on a rate hike takes place, possibly producing spillover effects.
At stake is whether BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will announce steps that stem from a review of monetary policy called for at the last meeting, which some analysts say stem from intense pressure by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to get a clearer handle on effective policy options. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) expects the BoJ "to maintain its current policy framework at next week's meeting and rather use the comprehensive assessment to increase the visibility of future policy direction."
As well, uncertainty over the timing of the next Federal Reserve rate hike continued.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Monday that the case to tighten monetary policy in the coming months is less compelling. The comments dampened expectations for a rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting which is scheduled for September 20-21. Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool showed a 15% chance of a rate hike next week.
Overnight, gold prices struggled near the lowest level in almost two weeks during Europe's session on Wednesday, ahead of a closely-watched U.S. retail sales report on Thursday, which is expected to shape the market's near-term interest rate expectations.
The Commerce Department will publish data on August retail sales on Thursday seen as another piece of the puzzle on the timing of future U.S. interest rate increases.
The consensus forecast is that the report will show retail sales dipped 0.1% last month, after holding flat in July. Core sales are forecast to inch up 0.2%, after falling 0.3% a month earlier.
Declining retail sales over time correlate with weaker economic growth, while rising sales signal a strengthening economy. Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.
Markets are pricing in just a 15% chance of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September 20-21 meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.