(Sept 25): Gold held steady after hitting an all-time high on Wednesday on hopes of another large US rate cut as the spotlight shifted to Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments and US inflation data due later this week.

Spot gold was steady at US$2,655.04 per ounce by 0848 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of US$2,670.43 earlier.

US gold futures gained 0.1% to US$2,679.30.

The Federal Reserve delivered a 50-bp cut at its last policy meeting and traders see a 58% chance of another half-percentage-point cut next month.

Lower interest rates boost non-yielding gold's appeal.

"Gold hit a fresh all-time high as markets ramped up bets for another jumbo-sized Fed rate cut in November. Gold bulls should have little problems reaching the US$2,700 mark by end-2024," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.

Data on Tuesday showed that US consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in September amid mounting fears over the health of the labour market.

A weaker dollar along with lower US Treasury yields also boosted investor demand for gold, Daniel Hynes, senior commodities strategist at ANZ said in a note.

Investors will monitor Powell's comments due on Thursday and Friday's US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index for further cues on the Fed's next policy move.

"The precious metal should see even stronger tailwinds towards US$3,000 if the window slams shut on a soft landing for the US economy," added Tan.

In the Middle East, Lebanon's Hezbollah said it fired a rocket targeting Mossad spy agency headquarters near Tel Aviv, which it blamed for the assassination of its leaders and the blowing up communications devices used by its members.

The robust gold demand is also due to concerns about an expanding conflict in the region, Panmure Liberum said in a note.

Spot silver fell 1% to US$31.81 per ounce, platinum was down 0.1% to US$984.50 and palladium shed 1.5% to US$1,040.44.

Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja