Investing.com - Gold futures were lower on Tuesday, holding on to losses following the release of mixed U.S. housing and inflation data.
Investors now looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday, amid ongoing speculation over whether the central bank will begin to unwind its easing program in the coming months.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,375.35 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.6% on the day.
Comex gold prices fell by as much as 0.9% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD1,371.05 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,366.25 a troy ounce, the low from June 11 and resistance at USD1,401.05, the high from May 28.
Gold prices remained lower after the Labor Department said U.S. consumer price inflation rose 1.4% from a year earlier in May, in line with forecasts and up from 1.1% in April.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2% in May, also in line with expectations.
Consumer prices rose 0.1% in May from a month earlier, slightly below expectations for a 0.2% increase.
A separate report from the Commerce Department said the number of building permits issued in the U.S. fell 3.1% in May to a seasonally adjusted 0.974 million, worse than expectations for a decline of 2.8% to 0.975 million units.
U.S. housing starts rose by 6.8% last month to hit a seasonally adjusted 0.914 million, below expectations for an increase of 11.4% to 0.950 million.
Investors were cautious amid speculation over whether the Fed will begin to scale back its easing program after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
Attention will focus on Bernanke’s press conference on Wednesday, which investors are hoping will provide further clues on how long the central bank will maintain its USD85-billion-a-month in bond purchases.
An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was little changed to trade at USD21.75 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery fell 0.85% to trade at USD3.171 a pound.
Investors now looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday, amid ongoing speculation over whether the central bank will begin to unwind its easing program in the coming months.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,375.35 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.6% on the day.
Comex gold prices fell by as much as 0.9% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD1,371.05 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,366.25 a troy ounce, the low from June 11 and resistance at USD1,401.05, the high from May 28.
Gold prices remained lower after the Labor Department said U.S. consumer price inflation rose 1.4% from a year earlier in May, in line with forecasts and up from 1.1% in April.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2% in May, also in line with expectations.
Consumer prices rose 0.1% in May from a month earlier, slightly below expectations for a 0.2% increase.
A separate report from the Commerce Department said the number of building permits issued in the U.S. fell 3.1% in May to a seasonally adjusted 0.974 million, worse than expectations for a decline of 2.8% to 0.975 million units.
U.S. housing starts rose by 6.8% last month to hit a seasonally adjusted 0.914 million, below expectations for an increase of 11.4% to 0.950 million.
Investors were cautious amid speculation over whether the Fed will begin to scale back its easing program after Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the bank could begin to taper asset purchases if the economy continued to improve.
Attention will focus on Bernanke’s press conference on Wednesday, which investors are hoping will provide further clues on how long the central bank will maintain its USD85-billion-a-month in bond purchases.
An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was little changed to trade at USD21.75 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery fell 0.85% to trade at USD3.171 a pound.