Gold continues to trend sideways

Gold held near record highs even as investors weighed a shift in message from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said the U.S. central bank would likely keep interest rates on hold for longer than initially planned. The precious metal has gained about 15% so far this year, driven in part by safe-haven demand as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to rise. It closed little changed Tuesday after Powell said it was appropriate to give the Fed’s restrictive policy more time to work and noted that no additional progress had been made on inflation in recent months after several strong economic pressures from the U.S. Bullion resisted a rise in Treasury yields on Tuesday, as well as gains in the dollar after Powell’s comments signaled another collapse in market expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates this year. While higher borrowing costs and a stronger dollar are typically a negative for the non-yielding precious metal, it has continued a weeks-long rally that has surprised some watchers. Long-standing spurts, including strong central bank buying and rising demand from Chinese consumers, also supported prices. Spot gold was steady at $2,381.99 an ounce as of 8:06 a.m. Singapore time, near an all-time high of $2,431.52 set on Friday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after a five-day gain. Silver, platinum and palladium were up.