May 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady above the key $2,000 level on Wednesday, while investors strapped in for the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate-hike verdict due later in the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold held its ground at $2,015.25 per ounce by 0021 GMT. U.S. gold futures were flat at $2,023.70.
* Prices rose more than 1% in the previous session as yields dropped on renewed fears of contagion in the U.S. banking sector.
* Fed's rate decision is due at 1800 GMT. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points.
* Bullion is known as a hedge against inflation and economic turbulence, but higher rates tend to diminish demand for the zero-yielding asset.
* Analysts expect gold prices to hover around $1,950 an ounce in the coming months, keeping close to all-time highs as central banks stop raising interest rates, a Reuters poll showed.
* U.S. job openings fell for a third straight month in March and layoffs increased to the highest level in more than two years, suggesting some softening in the labor market.
* Top U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to accept their party's debt-ceiling package or make a counter-offer, while a top Democrat said the Senate might try to advance a "clean" debt-ceiling hike next week.
* Spot silver was down 0.2% at $25.35 per ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $1,061.31 while palladium edged 0.6% higher to $1,437.91.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0900 EU Unemployment Rate March 1345 US S&P Global Comp, Svcs Final PMIs April 1400 US ISM N-Mfg PMI April 1800 US Federal Open Market Committee announces its decision on interest rates
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
