Gold holds steady as activity muted, headed for best year in three – Markets

Gold prices steadied on Wednesday as trading was muted in the last week of the year, but bullion was headed for its best year in three on expectation the Federal Reserve will cut rates in the first quarter of 2024.

Spot gold was down 0.1% to $2,064.55 per ounce, as of 0611 GMT, not far from an over two-week high of $2070.39 hit on Friday.

Bullion was on track to mark an over 10% gain this year…