Gold prices surged to a record high on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged in a widely expected move and stayed on track for three rate cuts this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold GOLD was up 0.5% at $2,196.69 per ounce, as of 0036 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $2,222.39 earlier in the session.
* U.S. gold futures 
GOLD jumped 1.8% to $2,198.90 per ounce.
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday recent high inflation readings had not changed the underlying “story” of slowly easing price pressures in the U.S.
* Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies.
* The dollar 
DXY slipped to a one-week low against its rivals, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields 
US10Y also dipped.
* Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in a 75% probability that the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, up from 59% on Tuesday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
* Focus now shifts to a rate decision from the Bank of England (BoE) later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to keep its bank rate at 5.25%, its highest level since 2008.
* SPDR Gold Trust 
GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.14% to 838.50 tons on Wednesday from 837.35 tons on Tuesday.
* Spot silver 
XAGUSD1! was steady at $25.61 per ounce, platinum 
PL1! rose 0.5% to $911.95 and palladium 
XPDUSD1! rose 0.4% to $1,025.19.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0745 France Business Climate Mfg, Overall March
0815 France HCOB Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
0830 Germany HCOB Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
0900 EU HCOB Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
0930 UK Flash Comp, Mfg, Serv PMIs March
1200 UK BOE Bank Rate March
1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx March
1345 US S&P Global Mfg, Serv, Comp Flash PMIs March
1400 US Existing Homes Sales Feb
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