20.12.202309:08:00UTC+00Gold Holds Steady In Lackluster Trade

Gold prices held steady on Wednesday and the dollar was little changed after Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin suggested the U.S. central bank would lower interest rates if recent progress on inflation continued.

However, other policymakers including Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and the Cleveland Fed's Loretta Mester have pushed back on expectations of rate cuts.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said there was no urgency to lower rates.

Spot gold was little changed at $2,039.91 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were around 0.1 percent at $2,053.45.

European bond yields eased as soft inflation data from Germany and the U.K. boosted investor hopes for rate cuts next year.

Traders await more U.S. data, including reports on consumer confidence and existing home sales later in the day for more clarity on the Fed's rate path.

Thursday's Q3 GDP print and Friday's durable goods orders and personal consumption expenditures - the Fed's preferred measure of inflation - will provide clues as to whether the Fed's battle against inflation is over.

Earlier today, China's central bank maintained its benchmark lending rates after the rate on medium-term lending facility, which acts as a guide to loan prime rates, was maintained at 2.50 percent last week.