LONDON: Gold steadied on Tuesday, moving in a tight range, after hopes of progress in US-China trade talks were tempered and ahead of a summit that will determine how Britain leaves the European Union.

Palladium hit a record high, continuing its stellar run driven by a sustained supply crunch.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,492.91 per ounce as of 1211 GMT. US gold futures was flat at $1,497.20.

“The markets remain priced for a far more dovish US Federal Reserve outlook than the central bank has signed up for.” The Fed meets at the end of the month to decide on whether to implement further rate cuts.

Palladium was up 0.3 per cent at $1,719.64 an ounce, after hitting a record $1,730.08.

“Palladium is one of the few commodities in the market right now where we’ve got a strong momentum and strong fundamentals both supporting prices,” Saxo Bank’s Hansen said.

Silver fell 0.3pc at $17.60 per ounce and platinum rose 0.1pc to $894.08.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2019