The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that gold prices retreated from a six-year high on Tuesday after comments from United States Federal Reserve officials trimmed expectations that the central bank will lower interest rates by half a percentage point next month. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Fed chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is "insulated from short-term political pressures," as policymakers wrestle with whether to cut rates. The comments came after St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank president James Bullard said he does not think the U.S. central bank needs to cut interest rates by a half-percentage point at its next meeting in July. Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,423.26 an ounce on Tuesday afternoon. Prices had touched a high of $1,438.63 in the session, a level last seen in May, 2013, and were set for a sixth straight session of gains. RJO Futures analyst Bob Haberkorn says: "The whole gold move [higher] was on the back of the Fed's signal to cut rates by 50 basis points in the last FOMC meeting. Now, Bullard and Powell's comments are going against that and Trump's wishes. It is probable that gold might continue paring gains to until the G20 meeting."