Warsh's Jackson Hole Speech Sets Stage for Gold Price Repricing

Gold prices inched higher on Thursday to $4,618.93 an ounce as investors waited for clues from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.

The move was a continuation of gold's strong week, with some analysts pointing to concerns about the dollar's long-term purchasing power and the US budget deficit as medium-term support for the metal.

However, near-term drivers are interest-rate expectations, with the CME's FedWatch Tool indicating a 38.1% chance of a September rate hike and 73.6% chance of a December hike after US inflation remained steady in July at 2% above the Fed's target.

Warsh's speech is seen as a validation or pushback on market expectations, with some analysts suggesting that if he avoids clear forward guidance, probabilities may not shift much and gold will remain range-bound between $4,500 and $4,700.