Investing.com – Gold prices remained below breakeven Monday amid expectations that higher U.S. interest rates would continue to support an uptick in the dollar, weighing on demand for yellow metal, while soft Chinese left other metals mixed.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.30 or 0.10%, to $1,240.00 a troy ounce, after trading as high as $1,245.70 intraday.
Forays higher in gold prices intraday were met with selling pressure, despite a subdued start to the week for the greenback, as traders awaited further clues on monetary policy action from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.17% to 94.28, down from a session high of 94.53.
Powell is expected to testify on the economy and monetary policy before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT) in Washington, followed by the House Financial Services Committee the next day.
Ahead of Powell's appearance, the Fed gave a positive assessment of the U.S. economy, insisting that strong labor markets and inflation would support the central bank's plan to continue with gradual rate hikes.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency, while a rise in U.S. rates lift the opportunity cost of holding gold as it pays no interest.
Weaker-than-expected fixed-asset investment and industrial production from China riased fears of economic weakness in the world’s largest metals buyer. Renewed focus on the trade tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners also soured sentiment on metals somewhat.
The U.S. filed complaints to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China, Canada, EU, Mexico, Turkey in response to retaliatory tariffs.
Copper prices fell 0.31% to $2.77, while zinc prices settled 3.83% lower at 2,482.50.
Aluminium prices rose 1.04% to 2,061.00, while Nickel futures settled nearly 2.11% down at 13,670.00.
Silver futures rose 0.06% to $15.86 a troy ounce, while platinum futures lost 0.52% to $826.00.