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Gold prices were essentially flat on Wednesday, having touched record highs earlier, as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision to be announced later today, with safe-haven demand continuing. Bart Melek, head of commodities strategy at TD Securities, said, ‘There are concerns that tariffs could trigger inflation, and the market consensus is that the Fed could start easing policy around the middle of the year, despite price increases due to U.S. tariffs.’ Melek said, ‘I expect the gold price to remain roughly at current levels, up and down around $25.’

The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate resolution later, and the market widely expects it to stay put, with major Wall Street stock indexes moving higher ahead of the resolution. For now, people are still worried about trade policy and its impact on the economy. Traders expect the Fed to cut rates at least twice by 25 basis points by December, with the first expected in July. The focus will be on policymakers' new economic forecasts, which will give an idea of how they feel President Donald Trump's policies will affect economic growth, inflation and unemployment. “We see an increasing likelihood of a weaker jobs report in the coming months,” said Chris Senyek, chief investment strategist at Wolfe Research that could ultimately lead to a rate cut by the Fed at its June meeting. Coupled with the highly uncertain path of tariffs, we conclude that the near-term trend for stocks will remain lower.’