- U.S. consumer prices increased solidly in February
- Credit Suisse shares slump
March 15 (Reuters) - Gold reversed course and rose on Wednesday, as a tumble in Credit Suisse shares rekindled fears about the banking sector and hammered appetite for riskier assets.
Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,906.79 per ounce as of 1118 GMT.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,912.10.
Europe's bank stocks came under pressure again, with Credit Suisse shares sliding after its largest investor said it could not provide the Swiss bank with more financial assistance.
"After what happened with SVB, markets are hypersensitive to negative bank-related news," with the ongoing troubles at Credit Suisse now benefiting safe-haven gold, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.
Gold prices hit an over one-month high on Monday as banking turmoil initially drove bets the Fed may even pause its rate hikes.
But limiting inflows into gold on Wednesday, the U.S. dollar advanced .
Overall focus was still on the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates as it assesses data showing elevated inflation in February against the backdrop of the collapse of two regional banks.
Volatility is expected over the coming days ahead of the Fed meeting, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Markets put a 57.9% chance on the Fed raising its benchmark rate by 25 basis points at its March 21-22 policy meeting, and a 42.1% probability of rates being held at current levels.
Gold is traditionally considered a hedge against inflation, but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.
In the run up to the meeting, gold will likely range between strong resistance at $1,915 and support at $1,809, ActivTrades' Evangelista said.
Spot silver rose 0.3% to $21.76 per ounce, platinum was 1.9% lower at $964.10 and palladium lost 3.9% to $1,447.91.
Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru Editing by Barbara Lewis and Mark Potter
Source: Reuters