Gold price slips after strong US data, focus now on Powell speech

Gold slipped on Tuesday after strong US economic readings, as traders position themselves for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech and more data that could offer clues on future interest rate hikes.

Spot gold dropped 0.4% to $1,914.34 per ounce by 11:45 a.m. EDT, having rebounded from a three-month low earlier this week, while US gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,924.10 per ounce in New York.

[Click here for an interactive chart of gold prices]

Latest data shows that US consumer confidence increased in June to the highest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, while new single-family home sales rose by a more-than-expected 12.2% in May.

“Gold did not like the news,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, as “that better economic data is going to drive those Fed tightening expectations and that should push up yields as well.”

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields climbed, making zero-interest-bearing gold less attractive.

But for gold, “the key question is the extent to which the internal tensions within Russia or any potential toppling of the government might affect global monetary policy,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a Reuters note.

Gold has shed about 2.2% this month – set for a second consecutive monthly fall if losses hold – as bets for higher-for-longer US interest rates dented the zero-yielding asset’s appeal and overshadowed its traditional safe-haven role to some extent.

Bullion edged up briefly on Monday on risks from the short-lived mutiny in Russia.

Investors are now awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech, along with a trove of key economic data on Thursday.

“Between now and Thursday, you’re going to see a drifting, no-man’s-land trading, sideways market here in gold, unless something else was to break,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

(With files from Reuters)