Gold futures settled
with a loss on Tuesday as investors looked toward upcoming U.S. labor
market data and comments from Federal Reserve officials for clues on
whether the central bank will decide to lift interest rates when it
meets later this month.
Gold for February
delivery on Comex fell $1.80, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,063.50 an ounce
after posting gains in the previous session, while March silver finished
less than half a cent lower at $14.083 an ounce.
Gold prices on Monday
climbed 0.9%, with gains fueled by “a short-covering rally thanks to
some trader positioning and a modest pullback in the dollar index ahead
of a slew of key” economic releases and comments from Federal Reserve
officials, said Tyler Richey, co-editor of The 7:00’s Report.
Fed Chairwoman Janet
Yellen will speak at separate events Wednesday and Thursday and the
monthly U.S. jobs report is due Friday. The employment data are expected
to further confirm that the Fed is on track to deliver its first
interest-rate hike in nearly a decade when it meets later this month.
But in a speech
Tuesday, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he’s leaning against a
rate-increase decision later this month.
Also Tuesday, U.S.
manufacturing data was downbeat, with the Institute for Supply
Management’s manufacturing index falling in November to its lowest level
since 2009. Still, Steve Murphy, U.S. economist at Capital Economics,
said the data “won’t prevent the Fed from raising interest rates” at the
mid-December meeting.
The European Central
Bank, meanwhile, is expected to deliver further monetary easing on
Thursday, which could weaken the euro and boost the dollar But analysts
are questioning whether the ECB’s action have already been discounted by
the market, potentially leaving little more room for further near-term
euro weakness.
In other metals trade,
March copper rose 2.3 cents, or 1.1%, to $2.072 a pound after several
Chinese producers said they would cut copper output next year. Read:
Chinese copper smelters to cut 2016 output
January platinum
advanced $2.50, or 0.3%, to $835.40 an ounce, while March palladium
slipped lower by $4, or 0.7%, to $539.20 an ounce.
Source : Market Watch
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