Gold steadies as hopes of US-Iran deal offset inflation, rate concerns

Gold ‌traded steady on Thursday, as rising hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal countered fears of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $4,538.16 per ounce, as of 0451 GMT. ​Bullion gained more than 1% on Wednesday after falling to its lowest ​level since March 30 earlier in the day.

U.S. gold futures for June ⁠delivery were steady at $4,539.50.

Iran said it was reviewing Washington's latest position on ending the ​war after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he was prepared to wait a few ​days to "get the right answers" from Tehran.

Sentiment improved "after Trump's remarks stating that both the U.S. and Iran are kind of reaching the final stages of peace deal agreement," said Kelvin Wong, a senior ​market analyst at OANDA.

However, "the overall trend of 10-year U.S. Treasury yield since the ​start of early March is still in a medium-term uptrend phase. Hence, gold bulls may not ‌be ⁠so aggressive in beating up prices at this juncture."

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose 0.3%, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.

Markets are increasingly pricing in possibilities of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy this year, with a 39% chance of a ​25 basis-point hike expected ​in December, per ⁠CME Group's FedWatch tool. 

Gold has fallen more than 14% since the war began in late February, as the non-yielding metal tends to decline ​on expectations of higher interest rates.

Minutes of the Fed's April ​meeting showed ⁠a majority of policymakers felt "some policy firming would likely become appropriate" if inflation stays persistently above the central bank's 2% target.

Gold is expected to remain weak in the upcoming sessions, with ⁠resistance ​seen at $4,645 levels and support at $4,456 levels, said ​Wong.

Spot silver was down 0.5% at $75.64 per ounce, platinum lost 0.8% to $1,934.69, and palladium fell 0.4% to $1,364.42.