US Federal Reserve Rate Hike Looms Amid Persistent Inflation Pressure
The US Federal Reserve is set to announce its interest-rate decision on Wednesday after a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee. Markets are betting on a rate hike as inflation remains well above the Fed's long-term target of 2%. August's consumer inflation index stood at 3.4%, unchanged from the previous month.
The possible rate hike by the US Federal Reserve could become an important test for Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, as the central bank faces pressure from the Trump administration. Warsh's predecessor Jerome Powell faced repeated criticism from Trump, while the administration has also sought to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
Gold prices rose over 1% on Wednesday as the dollar weakened and oil prices slipped, ahead of the US Federal Reserve's upcoming decision on interest rates for further direction. Spot gold was up 1.3% at $4,347.91 per ounce as of 1208 GMT after touching a more than one-month low on Monday.