Gold prices slip ahead of Jackson Hole symposium

Gold prices slipped on Wednesday in Asia ahead of the highly anticipated Jackson Hole symposium.

Gold Futures for December delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were down 0.2% at $1,512.25.

Both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will release minutes from their latest policy meetings this week, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech on Friday at Jackson Hole.

Analysts believe Powell’s speech will provide an unknown risk of either a deeper consolidation in gold or further support.

“We do expect some fireworks on Friday,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

Barani Krishnan, senior commodity analyst at , noted a slowdown in gold’s recent rally and said investors were waiting for more signs of central bank easing, potentially from the Jackson Hole event, before committing to fresh long positions.

Investors also await more news on the Sino-U.S. trade front. The U.S. extended a license for China’s Huawei to temporarily continue doing business with U.S. companies on Tuesday. The move seemingly eased some tension with Beijing, but U.S. President Donald Trump, who repeatedly said he is “not ready” to make a trade deal, said he had to “take China on” even if it affects U.S. economy in the short term.