Gold steadied today as the dollar index reversed earlier losses, but trading was muted as the U.S. currency remained hemmed into ranges ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting next week.

Food price inflation is set to continue, according to a recently released UN report on food prices. This from CNN:

World food prices will fall from current peaks in the coming years but will remain “substantially above” average levels from the past decade.

The world’s poorest nations are most vulnerable — particularly the urban poor in food-importing countries — and will require increased humanitarian aid to stave off hunger and undernourishment, a joint agricultural outlook by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said.

The rising US inflation rate is dampening policy makers’ appetite for more Fed rate cuts, even if the economy sinks into a recession, according to recently released minutes of its last policy meeting. This from MarketWatch:

Surging prices for gasoline, food and other commodities forced the Fed to sharply boost its inflation outlook for this year, but not for next year. At the same time, their forecast for economic growth this year was revised much lower this year, with a rebound next year still in the cards.