2024.02.2209:33:00UTC+00Gold Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade; Fed Speeches Awaited

Gold prices were seeing modest gains on Thursday while the dollar dipped as Nvidia's strong earnings drove optimism across asset classes.

Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $2,029.95 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $2,040.05.

PMI data releases remained in the spotlight after minutes of the late-January Fed meeting revealed concerns about lowering rates too soon.

According to the minutes, participants acknowledged risks to achieving the Fed's employment and inflation goals were moving into better balance, but they remained highly attentive to inflation risks.

Most participants subsequently highlighted the risks of moving "too quickly" to lower interest rates and emphasized the importance of carefully assessing incoming data in judging whether inflation is moving down sustainably to the Fed's 2 percent target.

U.S. weekly jobless claims and existing home sales data may garner some investor attention in the New York session.

At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson will deliver a speech on the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy before a Peterson Institute for International Economics webcast, in Washington D.C., U.S.

At 3:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker will speak on the economic outlook before an event hosted by the University of Delaware Center for Economic Education, in Newark, Delaware, U.S.