Gold prices flat ahead of Fed policy decision

Gold prices held ground today, Dec. 14, amid a stable US dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day.

Gold futures for February delivery settled at $1,824.30 an ounce at 10:08 am Makkah time, with spot prices steady at $1,811.65 per ounce.

Meanwhile, silver futures for March delivery rose 0.29% to $24.06 an ounce, with the spot price of platinum also up 0.15% to $1,034.92 per ounce. The spot price of palladium, however, shed 0.14% to $1,927.18 an ounce.

The US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, stabilized at 103.96 points.

The Fed's interest rate decision and monetary policy statement, along with the economic outlook report, will be released later today. Expectations suggest that the central bank will slow the pace of rate hikes, approving a 50-basis-point (bp) increase during today’s meeting.

Investors are also focusing on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments in the press conference that follows the central bank’s policy decision. This is in search of clues about the future path of interest rates in light of the economic outlook and looming recession fears.