“Gold Stabilizes Near $2000 as Investors Await US Economic Data”

(Reuters) – It settled near the important $2,000 an ounce on Wednesday as investors remain cautious and await US economic data that may help them predict the course of US interest rates.

And hold in the spot market at $ 1999.09 an ounce by 0042 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.3 percent to $2010.20.

It fell 0.1 percent, making the precious metal more attractive to buyers holding other currencies.

Data on Tuesday showed US consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low in April as worries about the future grow, exacerbating the risk of the economy falling into a recession this year.

Single-family home sales in the United States jumped to the highest level in a year in March, and the rise in demand is likely to be a result of lower interest rates on mortgages.

The US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates, is scheduled to meet on May 2-3.

Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, high interest rates reduce the attractiveness of the precious metal, which does not yield a return.

In spot transactions, it rose 0.1 percent to $25.06 an ounce, while platinum rose 0.7 percent to $1,094.12, and rose 1 percent to $1,498.95.

(Prepared by Mahmoud Abdel-Gawad for the Arabic Bulletin)