Gold is poised for the first weekly decline in a month as investors await a key address by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole gathering on Friday, while mulling comments from other officials on monetary policy.

Three Fed policy makers voiced their resistance to the notion that the U.S. economy needs lower interest rates, and a fourth said he wanted to avoid taking further action “unless we have to,” foreshadowing a sharp debate with officials who want to cut again.

Meanwhile, gold bulls lost their majority for the first time in three weeks in a weekly Bloomberg survey of traders and analysts.

Spot gold little changed at $1,496.96/oz at 8:12am in Singapore; -1.1% this week to snap three straight weeks of gains.

Source : Bloomberg