Gold prices up ahead of Fed rate decision

Gold prices rose today, Sept. 21, after reaching their lowest levels in almost two and a half years in yesterday's session, as investors' focus turned to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

Gold futures for December delivery advanced 0.52% $1,679.70 an ounce at 10:38 am Makkah time, after falling to $1,671.10 per ounce when settling yesterday’s trading — the lowest since April 2020. Spot prices also gained 0.4% to $1,671.53 an ounce.

Silver futures for December delivery surged 1.24% to $19.42 an ounce. The spot price of platinum also inched up 0.68% to $928.47 per ounce, while the spot price for palladium settled at $2,167 an ounce.

The main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.49% to 110.72 points.

The US central bank is scheduled to announce its monetary policy decision later today, amid expectations of a 75-basis-point (bp) interest rate hike. Heading for a larger 100-bp increase is also in the cards, which would be the largest interest rate rise in 40 years.

Additionally, the Fed will release a monetary policy report and its forecasts for the economy, inflation and unemployment, to be followed by a press conference headed by Fed President Jerome Powell.