Gold drops to one-month low ahead of key US data

WASHINGTON: Gold prices hit an over one-month low on Thursday ahead of a key US data, which is expected to provide cues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path, while a thaw in US-China trade tensions also weighed on bullion’s appeal.

Spot gold fell 0.8 per cent to $3,153.09 an ounce, as of 0303 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since April 10, earlier in the session.

US gold futures slipped 1 per cent to $3,156.90.

The United States and China agreed to reduce tariffs drastically and adopted a 90-day pause, de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s two largest economies. However, global markets still remained uncertain about the outcome after 90-days.

US-China trade truce is good news to the market, so people are looking at risky assets more now, said Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, Singapore.

“We are looking at the $3,150 as the next key level. If that doesn’t hold, then $3,100 is likely.”

The spotlight is now on the US producer price index (PPI) data, due at 1230 GMT, following the softer-than-expected consumer data.

Fed policymakers are leaving interest rates where they are while they try to assess how US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade negotiations will affect prices and the economy. So far, the hard data is giving them little to go on.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is also set to deliver a speech later in the day.

Markets are expecting 50 basis points of Fed interest rate cuts this year, starting from October instead of July, as previously anticipated.

Gold, traditionally seen as a hedge against economic and political uncertainties, thrives in a low-interest-rate environment.

Spot silver was down 0.7 per cent to $31.98 an ounce, platinum rose 0.5 per cent to $980.35 and palladium gained 0.1 per cent to $951.90.

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