The metal extended loses as the dollar rose to a one-week high against both the euro and the yen on the US retail data.

NEW YORK/LONDON: Gold fell 1 per cent on Tuesday, snapping a four-day winning streak, weighed down by better US consumer spending data and after top market India hiked its import duty on gold to a record 10 per cent.

Bullion came under pressure after a report by the Commerce Department showed US consumer spending rose in July at its fastest pace in seven months, an encouraging sign that could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve winding down its economic stimulus program.

The metal extended loses as the dollar rose to a one-week high against both the euro and the yen on the US retail data.

"The story right now is the stronger dollar, and the huge increase of import duties by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to weigh on physical demand," said Howard Wen, metal analyst at HSBC.

India raised import taxes on gold and silver on Tuesday as policymakers scrambled to narrow a gaping current account deficit. It marked the third such increase in eight months.

Spot gold fell 1 per cent to $1,322.40 by 2:14 p.m. EDT (1814 GMT).

US Comex gold futures for December delivery settled down $13.70 at $1,320.50 an ounce, with trading volume about 20 per cent below its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed.

The metal largely ignored comments by Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, who said recent data does not present a clear picture of the economy, even as he did not rule out some kind of decrease next month in the $85 billion monthly pace of bond buys currently under way.

Traders are closely focused on US economic data for signs of economic momentum as they anticipate that the US central bank will start reducing its stimulus in September if the economy is gaining traction.

Gold has fallen about 20 per cent this year as any Fed stimulus tapering would likely lead to a higher interest-rate environment that diminished gold's attractiveness.

Wednesday's US regulatory filings from hedge funds and institutional investors are expected to show how their holdings had changed during the second quarter, in which gold had posted a record two-day $225 sell-off in mid April.

Silver sharply erased its early gains, largely tracked gold's move. It last traded 0.3 per cent higher at $21.42 an ounce, having earlier risen to a two-month high of $21.76 an ounce.

Among platinum group metals, platinum edged up 0.2 per cent to $1,495.24 an ounce, while palladium gained 25 cents to $736.25 an ounce.

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