08:57 AM EDT, 08/22/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Gold prices fell early on Friday even as the dollar was steady ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, as traders await some indication of the central bank's outlook for interest rates.

Gold for December delivery was last seen down US$11.40 to US$3,370.20 per ounce, sticking within the narrow range it has mostly traded within since April.

The drop comes ahead of Powell's morning speech at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming. The chair's address comes amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to lower rates while the U.S. economy slows even as inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target.

The Fed is still expected to cut interest rates at the Sept.17 end to the meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). However the outlook for a cut is weakening, with the CME Fedwatch tool now seeing a 71.3% probability for a 25 basis point cut to rates, down from 85.4% a week ago.

"In a speech today at Jackson Hole, Fed Chair Powell is expected to unveil the Fed's new policy framework - the strategy it'll employ to achieve its inflation and employment goals. Minutes of the late July FOMC meeting showed most Fed officials see inflation risks outweighing concerns over the labor market, as tariffs fueled a growing divide within the central bank's rate-setting committee," Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, wrote.

The dollar was mostly steady ahead of the speech, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.05 points to 98.66. Treasury yields were mixed, with the yield on the two-year note last seen up 1.0 basis points to 3.804%, while the 10-year note was paying 4.317%, down 1.3 points.