May 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as market participants awaited fresh cues from top central banks on their monetary policy plans, especially from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was unchanged at $1,982.58 per ounce by 0012 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,990.80.
* The Federal Reserve, which meets on May 2-3, is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points.
* While gold is known as an inflation hedge, rising rates tend to lower demand for zero-yielding asset.
* Bullion prices slipped in the previous session as the dollar rose after better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data.
* The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday that its manufacturing PMI rose to 47.1 last month from 46.3 in March, which was the lowest reading since May 2020.
* The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to raise rates for the seventh straight meeting on Thursday.
* Regulators seized First Republic Bank and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co on Monday, in a deal to resolve the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis and draw a line under a lingering banking turmoil.
* Spot silver was flat at $24.97 per ounce, platinum rose 0.2% to $1,051.33 and palladium edged 0.2% higher to $1,454.06.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0430 Australia RBA Cash Rate May 0600 UK Nationwide house price MM, YY April 0750 France S&P Global Mfg PMI April 0755 Germany S&P Global/BME Mfg PMI April 0800 EU S&P Global Mfg Final PMI April 0830 UK S&P GLBL/CIPS Mfg PMI April 0900 EU HICP Flash YY April 0900 EU HICP-X F, E, A&T Flash MM, YY April 1400 US Factory Orders MM March US Federal Open Market Committee starts its two-day meeting on interest rates (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru)
