Shafaq News/ Gold prices remained steady on Thursday, following a more than 1% increase in the previous session, as U.S. inflation data sparked hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon halt its monetary policy tightening.

Spot gold held almost unchanged at $1,957.48 per ounce by 0039 GMT, while U.S. gold futures remained flat at $1,962.30.

U.S. consumer prices experienced a modest rise in June, recording the smallest annual increase in over two years as inflation continued to ease. However, the data will unlikely dissuade the Federal Reserve from resuming interest rate hikes later this month.

Gold is often sought as a safe investment during political and financial uncertainty, but higher interest rates raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

The visit of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to China has raised hopes in Beijing that tariffs on Chinese imports imposed during the Trump era may be eased as efforts to improve relations between the two nations are made.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) is exploring expanding its commodities warehousing network beyond China. According to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter cited by Reuters, it is currently assessing systems and regulations in the overseas sector.

Meanwhile, India has imposed restrictions on importing plain gold jewelry to address loopholes in its trade policy. India is the second-largest consumer of the precious metal globally.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), reported a slight decrease in holdings, falling from 914.95 tonnes on Tuesday to 914.66 tonnes on Wednesday, a decline of 0.03%.

Spot silver remained relatively unchanged at $24.1255 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.6% to $951.93, and palladium edged 0.3% higher to $1,287.09.