Investors were bracing for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, thus gold prices were muted in early Asian trading on Friday. The price of spot gold was $4,589.85/oz, down 0.2% as of 00:41. With a final settlement price of $4,642.60, U.S. gold futures fell 0.5%. At this year’s Kansas City Fed’s much-anticipated economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed officials voiced their long-standing worries about the state of inflation in the United States.

The issue was discussed by the authorities after a report showed that the main inflation measure used by the central bank, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, came in at 3.7% for the year ending in July. Later today, the occasion will be addressed by Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh. There was a drop in first-time applications for unemployment benefits for a second week in a row, and the overall number of people on the jobless relief rolls hit a month-low, according to the data.

The Federal Reserve may have more leeway to focus on controlling inflation if this pattern continues, since it indicates a stable labour market. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, market players are currently favouring a 35.4% chance of a US interest rate hike in September, with expectations increasing to a 74.6% possibility by December. Despite its usefulness as an inflation hedge, gold loses some of its allure when interest rates are high because it offers no return on investment.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Washington is not currently involved in conversations with Iran, while Qatar’s prime minister visited Tehran on Thursday in an effort to revive failed diplomatic efforts six months into the protracted dispute. Among other metals, palladium saw a small drop of 0.1% to $1,349.34 and spot silver fell 0.2% to $69.12/oz. With a 0.2% drop to $1,842.26, platinum is likely to lose ground this week.