Gold at $1,673.29: Still near two-year low after parade of rate hikes

Gold held steady after a volatile session as a parade of central banks followed the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates to cool inflation.

Bullion pared losses of as much 1.1% on Thursday after Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market to strengthen its currency, causing the greenback to slide and bond yields to climb. Still, it continues to trade near a two-year low, and could enter a bear market as the dollar remains at record levels.

Central banks including Switzerland, Norway and Britain followed the Fed's lead in announcing interest-rate hikes to curb price increases. The non-interest bearing metal, which is priced in the US currency, usually has a negative correlation with the dollar and rates.

"Gold is clearly going to become a safe haven as the global outlook deteriorates and as Wall Street grows confident that we are nearing the peak with Treasury yields," said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. The metal has "massive support at the $1,660 level and if it can stabilize above there, prices could eventually make a move back above the $1,700 level," he added.

Spot gold was steady at $1,673.29 an ounce at 8:03 am in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after rallying to a record high. Silver and platinum edged up, while palladium was little changed.