Although gold prices barely moved on Wednesday, they had suffered significant losses during the previous two days as a result of hawkish remarks made by Federal Reserve officials, which caused traders to reevaluate their prospects for additional rate hikes.

Spot gold slipped by 0.1% to $1,967.78 per ounce, meanwhile gold futures steadied at $1,973.85 per ounce.

This brought attention to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's impending speech, since the markets interpreted his remarks from a meeting last week as being a little less hawkish.

Following the Fed meeting and a less-than-expected nonfarm payrolls number, which raised expectations for an end to the central bank's rate-hike cycle, gold experienced some gains in the previous week.

However, a number of Fed members toned down hopes for a pause, pointing out that more hikes are necessary given the robust economy and persistent inflation.

Since that investing in gold has a lower opportunity cost when interest rates are higher, this has a negative impact on the gold forecast.