Gold prices rallied in European trade on Tuesday to a two-week high, almost touching the $2000 barrier as the dollar and US yields lost ground.

The gains come ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes, expected to shed light on the likely path ahead for US monetary policies. 

Gold Prices Today

Gold prices rose 0.2% to $1,994 an ounce, the highest since November 6, with a session-low at $1,977, after closing down 0.15% on Monday, following a heavy profit last week. 

The Dollar

The dollar index fell 0.3% on Tuesday, sharpening losses for the third straight session and plumbing a three-month trough at 103.18 against a basket of major rivals. 

Such losses came as traders sell off the dollar amid improving risk appetite, with investors expecting the Fed to have wrapped up the current cycle of policy tightening.

US Yields 

US 10-year treasury yields fell 1% on Tuesday on track for another loss, almost hitting two-month lows at 4.381% and buoying non-yielding assets. 

Such developments came as investors fully expect the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates unchanged at the December meeting.

Fed Minutes 

Investors now await the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later today, at which the Fed held interest rates flat at 5.5%, already the highest since 2001.

Such a decision was the third of its kind in the last four meetings, and a strong sign that the US policy tightening cycle has ended. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the FOMC remains committed to bring inflation towards 2%, and admitted the road to achieve such a target will be difficult and long.

The SPDR

Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust remained flat yesterday at a total of 883.43 tonnes, the highest since September 11.

Sterling rose in European trade on Tuesday against a basket of major rivals, extending gains for the third straight session against dollar and scaling a two-month high following bullish remarks from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

To review such prospects, investors now await a crucial hearing session in the UK Parliament dedicated to BOE officials. 

The session is expected to shed light on the likely path ahead in UK monetary policies.

GBP/USD

GBP/USD rose 0.3% to 1.2540, the highest since September 11, with a session-low at 1.2500, after rising 0.35% on Monday, the second profit in a row, amid a strong risk appetite dominating the market. 

Bailey 

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said it's still too early to talk about cutting interest rates, asserting the focus now is still on bringing inflation back to 2%. 

Bailey said the BOE will continue to monitor inflation data and gauge the sustainability of the current inflation spike. 

He opened the door for another interest rate hike if needed and asserted the need for an extended duration of high interest rates. 

Hearing Session 

Later today, a Parliamentary session dedicated for Bank of England policies will be held. 

The BOE said after its November meeting that monetary policies must remain tight for an extended duration to bring inflation towards the 2% target. 

The BOE's policymakers expected the risks threatening higher inflation to remain on the upside for some time. 

The International Energy Agency said that clean energy jobs jumped worldwide in recent years, especially as the sector flourishes in China, however, an impending skilled labor shortage is about to represent a huge barrier against more expansion.

The IEA's report found that employees in the energy sector surged today compared to 2019, mainly due to clean energy employment. 

In fact, clean energy employees outpaced their fossil fuel counterparts in 2021, with the gap continuing to expand. 

Last year, the global workforce in the energy sector reached 67 million jobs, up 3.4 million from 2019, with the clean energy sector alone adding 4.7 million jobs in that period to a total of 35 million jobs. 

The main powerhouses of the clean energy sector are: solar and wind energy, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, mining important precious metals used in clean energy industries. 

Despite the brisk growth of the clean energy jobs, the IEA expects a considerable shortage in skilled labor to stand against further expansion. 

The IEA noted that the number of individuals getting certificates to work in the energy sector is not keeping up with demand. 

Studies have shown that while US policies will help create over 9 million jobs in the clean energy sector in the next decade, the rate of job creating will remain below demand. 

US stock indices gained ground on Monday amid calm and optimism in the market about the prospects of ending the current cycle of US monetary tightening, following data that showed weakening labor conditions and lower inflation. 

All three stock indices in the US marked strong gains last week, while Dow Jones marked the third weekly profit in row. 

The US market is closing on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, while the Friday session will be truncated, and such short weekly sessions are usually volatile, however November has so far proved incredibly profitable for the S&P 500. 

Now investors await NVIDIA's quarterly results tomorrow, after its stock surged by over 200% so far this year on the back of stellar profits.

On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.2% as of 15:02 GMT to 35,007, while S&P 500 rose 0.3%, or 12 points to 4526, as NASDAQ rose 0.6%, or 88 points to 14,214.