Gold price up just ahead of Fed Chair Powell's speech

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are modestly higher in early trading Friday, as the market event of the week, if not the month, lies just ahead: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual Kansas City Fed symposium. October gold futures were last up $3.80 at $1,796.80. September Comex silver was last up $0.085 at $23.635 an ounce.

The annual Fed confab being held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming late this week has seen four Fed officials on Thursday and early today say they favor tapering the central bank’s very accommodative monetary policy sooner rather than later—despite the growing concerns about the resurgence of the coronavirus and its potential impact on the U.S. and global economies. Powell is slated to speak virtually on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Many traders and investors had believed the Federal Reserve would extend its easy-money policies for a longer period of time than they had planned just a few weeks ago, due to the spreading Covid delta variant. Powell may still feel that way and may provide more clarity to his intentions this morning. Some market watchers believe Powell in his speech won’t tip his hand on timing of any Fed policy moves.

Global stock markets were mixed in quieter trading overnight. The U.S. stock indexes are pointed to firmer openings when the New York day session begins. The terrorist bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan Thursday that killed over a dozen American soldiers and many more Afghans did not have a major impact on markets, but has tempered risk appetite in the marketplace late this week.