Last update: May 01, 2023, 11:55 PM IST
The dollar index gained 0.5%, making dollar-priced bullion less attractive to overseas buyers. (Representative image/AP)
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,983.29 an ounce as of 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT), reversing gains of nearly 1% made earlier in the session.
Gold prices edged lower on Monday as the dollar rose after better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data, as markets await the Federal Reserve’s rate hike decision this week.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,983.29 an ounce at 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT), reversing gains of nearly 1% made earlier in the session.
US gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,991.90.
The U.S. manufacturing sector hit a three-year low in April as new orders improved slightly and employment rebounded, while construction spending rose more than expected in March, boosted by investment in structures non-residential.
The stronger-than-expected data sent the metals market tumbling and gave the dollar a bit of a boost, said Jim Wyckoff, principal analyst at Kitco Metals.
The dollar index gained 0.5%, making dollar-priced bullion less attractive to overseas buyers. [USD/]
Ahead of the US session earlier, gold prices had rebounded to touch $2,005 as traders took stock of news that JPMorgan Chase & Co would buy most of First Republic Bank’s assets after regulators warned. seized the troubled lender over the weekend.
“The decision was definitely premature… We took this opportunity to try to capitalize on the removal of some positions on this move up,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, Chicago.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet on May 2-3 and markets are widely expecting interest rates to rise by 25 basis points.
Investors will also be focusing on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference to gauge whether the comment pushes back market expectations for rate cuts before the end of the year amid recent banking turmoil and threats. of an impending recession.
While gold is known as an inflation hedge, rising rates tend to reduce the demand for zero return bullion.
Spot silver fell 0.4% to $24.93 an ounce, platinum lost 1.8% to $1,055.11, while palladium lost 2.8% to 1,458, $90.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
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