02:00 PM EDT, 07/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates prices.)

Gold was mostly steady midafternoon on Tuesday even as the dollar edged higher ahead after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell completed the first of two days of congressional testimony giving no indication for when the central bank will begin cutting interest rates.

Gold for August delivery was last seen up US$4.10 to US$2,367.60 per ounce.

Powell appeared before Senate lawmakers on Tuesday. While he noted a cooling of the labor market, he gave no details on when interest rates will begin coming down.

"Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a semi-annual testimony to the US Congress today with the market looking for dovish clues about a potential rate cut in September," Saxo Bank noted.

However two U.S. inflation reports this week may give a firmer indication on the Fed's path going forward. The June Consumer Price Index coming Thursday is expected to show an annualized rise of 3.1%, according to Marketwatch, down from 3.3% in May.

The CPI data will be followed on Friday with the release of the June Producer Price Index, with the consensus estimate expecting a rise of 0.1% from May, up from a drop of 0.2% in that month.

The dollar moved higher, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.16 points to 105.16.

The U.S. two-year note was last seen paying 4.639%, down 0.2 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was up 2.1 basis points to 4.305%.