Gold steady after best quarter since 2020 on rising haven demand

Gold was steady after posting the biggest quarterly advance in almost two years as Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, concerns over inflation and the risks to global growth burnished its appeal as a haven asset.

The new quarter begins with talks between the two countries set to resume Friday, and the release of the monthly US jobs report. Bullion is still heading for a weekly loss, with traders continuing to assess the prospects of a quicker pace of interest rate hikes in major economies. Central banks are tackling price pressures fuelled by a conflict that’s disrupted commodity flows.

US inflation-adjusted consumer spending declined in February, suggesting the fastest pace of price increases in four decades is starting to temper demand. The personal consumption expenditures price index, which the Federal Reserve uses for its inflation target, increased 6.4 per cent from a year earlier, the most since 1982.

Wall Street’s biggest banks are betting on the Fed turning much more aggressive in tightening monetary policy than they predicted just weeks ago. Higher rates typically weigh on the non-interest bearing precious metal.

Spot gold slipped 0.1 per cent to $1,935.92 an ounce at 8.11am in Singapore, after rising 5.9 per cent in the first quarter, the most since the three months ended June 30, 2020.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after climbing 0.3 per cent in the previous session. Palladium rose, while platinum and silver were little changed.