Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday (August 19th), boosted by a weaker dollar amid prospects for a US interest rate cut, while investors awaited the Fed Chair's speech in Jackson Hole later this week.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,336.88 per ounce at 08:14 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.1% to $3,381.20. The dollar index fell 0.1% against a basket of major currencies, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.

"Gold has been in a tight range for the past few weeks, pulled in various directions amid the ebb and flow of trade tensions, efforts to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, and weak US employment data, but we believe the risks are to push it higher in the medium term," said UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US would help ensure Ukraine's security in any deal to end the war with Russia, although the extent of the assistance remains unclear.

Trump hosted Zelenskiy and a group of European allies days after his meeting with Putin in Alaska, which ended without a deal.

Meanwhile, market attention is focused on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium held on August 21-23, which could shed light on the central bank's economic outlook. Investors are pricing in an 83% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed's September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. "With few data points between now and the next FOMC meeting, there may be no commitment (from the Fed) on the next move," said Staunovo of UBS.

The minutes of the Fed's July meeting, due to be released on Wednesday, are also expected to provide clues about the US economic outlook. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.1% to $37.97 an ounce, platinum rose 0.6% to $1,330.80, and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,115.37.(alg)

Source: Reuters