Gold holds below 2-week high as investors await Fed decision

Gold prices steadied below last session's two-week high on Wednesday as the dollar stood firm, with investors eyeing the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting for its outlook on economy.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,730.82 per ounce by 6.57 am, having risen to $1,740.90 in the last session, its highest since March 1. US gold futures fell about 0.1 per cent to $1,729.60 per ounce.

A spate of volatility in money markets has stoked speculation that the US central bank may be forced into a technical adjustment to the levers controlling its benchmark interest rate to ensure that it does not fall too low, but few expect it to act on the matter at this week's meeting.

Asian stocks were set to open mostly lower following a sell-off in US stocks. US retail sales fell more than expected in February amid cold weather across the country, but a rebound is likely as the government disburses another round of pandemic relief money.

Nornickel, world's largest palladium producer and a leading nickel producer, expects its 2021 nickel, copper, platinum and palladium output to fall 15 per cent-20 per cent short of original outlook due to waterlogging at two Siberian mines.

Palladium jumped about 5 per cent and scaled to a one-year high of $2,520.31 in the preceding session. One of the world's biggest gold refiners said on Tuesday it had developed a way to quickly confirm where gold had been mined, potentially stopping illegal gold from entering supply chains.

Silver fell 0.7 per cent to $25.77, platinum slid 0.5 per cent to $1,206 and palladium slipped 0.2 per cent to $2,494.05.