Gold prices soften, look for slight relief in reduced rate bets Via Investing.com
Investing.com– Gold prices were weaker in Asian trading on Monday, taking limited support from increased expectations of a US interest rate cut as traders awaited further signals from the Federal Reserve and the US economy this week.
The yellow metal stayed squarely within a trading range established around June, and made little progress as the dollar sank.
fell slightly to $2,325.74 an ounce, while August expiration was down 0.2% to $2,336.05 an ounce by 00:09 ET (04:09 GMT).
Gold marks modest gains as September’s cut rate rises
Sentiment in metal markets, particularly gold, remained subdued as traders raised expectations for a September rate cut, following last week’s data.
It fell more than 0.2% on Monday, extending losses from the previous session.
Traders have indicated prices at about a 58% chance of a 25-point drop in September.
While the prospect of lower prices bodes well for steel markets, prices have underperformed as traders await a slew of signals from the Fed and the economy this week.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak on Tuesday, and is expected to speak on Wednesday.
Additionally, data for June is due on Friday.
Other precious metals fell on Monday. was down 0.5% to $1,004.60 an ounce, and down 0.5% to $29.405 an ounce.
Copper bounces back from mixed China PMIs
Among industrial metals, copper prices fell on Monday, extending recent losses as sentiment on the red metal was weighed down by a mixed economic package from China’s top exporter.
Benchmark on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $9,545.50 a tonne, and one-month was down 0.5% to $4.3550 a pound.
Sentiment about China continued to sour this week as government data released on Sunday showed that the country’s manufacturing sector contracted for the second month in a row.
But Monday’s release showed the sector had grown at its fastest pace in three years.
The mixed reading kept traders uncertain about how the economic recovery in the world’s biggest copper trader was playing out.
Concerns over China saw the biggest log loss through June.
