Gold eases from record high as investors book profits, weigh Powell’s comments

Gold fell on Wednesday as investors booked profits after hitting a record high in the previous session, while markets weighed U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious remarks on potential interest rate cuts. Spot gold slipped 0.3% at $3,753.22 per ounce, as of 0224 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $3,790.82 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.8% to $3,785.90. Powell said on Tuesday the central bank needed to continue balancing the competing risks of high inflation and a weakening job market in coming rate decisions, even as his colleagues staked out arguments on both sides of the policy divide. Gold is currently being influenced by overbought technical indicators leading to profit-taking and the Powell’s balanced speech, which lacked clear hints on future rate hikes, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.