GOLD FUTURES EASE AHEAD OF FED MEETING

By Danni Haizal Danial Donald

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Gold futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives slipped at the close today as markets await the decision from the United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting today, coupled with losses in the US COMEX gold market,  

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said market sentiment remains anchored to inflation signals as it continues to track movements in crude oil prices for direction.

“The challenge is that the Fed’s reaction function is still difficult to pin down here, leaving gold stuck in a holding pattern between inflation fears and policy uncertainty,” he told Bernama.

At the close, the spot-month March 2026 contract inched down to US$5,003.50 per troy ounce from US$5,026.90 on Tuesday, April 2026 edged down to US$5,022.90 per troy ounce from US$5,046.30 yesterday, and May 2026 slipped to US$5,044.20 per troy ounce from US$5,067.60 previously.

The June, August and September 2026 contracts also settled lower at US$5,078.10 per troy ounce compared with US$5,101.50 on Tuesday.

Trading volume dipped to nine lots from 35 lots on Tuesday, while open interest was reduced to 62 contracts from 105 contracts previously.

Physical gold was fixed at US$5,016.80 per troy ounce at the London Bullion Market Association afternoon fix on March 17, 2026.

-- BERNAMA