* Gold may test support at $1,769/oz – technicals
* Two Fed officials say inflation pressures may last some time
* U.S. initial jobless claims, Q1 final GDP data at 1230 GMT (Recasts, adds comment, updates prices)
June 24 (Reuters) – Gold steadied in a tight range on Thursday, tracking moves in the dollar as mixed signals from U.S. Federal Reserve officials on stimulus withdrawal kept investors on their toes.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,779.30 per ounce at 0905 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% to $1,780.80.
Gold is still on “shaky” ground, and is “likely to swing between losses and gains as investors navigate conflicting signals from Fed officials,” said senior analyst at FXTM Lukman Otunga.
Investors are likely to adopt a cautious approach towards gold as they await U.S. inflation data on Friday, Otunga added.
Two Fed officials said on Wednesday a period of high inflation may last longer than anticipated, with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic expecting a rate hike in late 2022.
The remarks helped the dollar index steady, after weakness earlier this week due to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s reassurance that interest rates would not be hiked too quickly.
Gold started to recover on bargain hunting, but “the technical construction means there’s resistance from about $1,805 up to $1,830s. So that’s going to make some people a little bit nervous,” StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell said. “But for the longer term … we’ve got negative real interest rates, and that’s positive for gold.”
Gold, considered a hedge against inflation, also benefits from lower interest rates as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. The Fed’s hawkish tone last week drove a 6% fall in bullion.
Focus is also on weekly U.S. labour data – key for Fed policy.
“If jobless claims improve, this could add to the growing list of factors that may bring more hawks to the policy discussion table,” pressuring zero-yielding gold, FXTM’s Otunga said.
Silver rose 0.5% to $25.98 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.5% to $1,078.28. Palladium was trading at $2,612.72. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru. Editing by Mark Potter)
