Gold prices remained steady on Thursday after hitting a two-week low in the previous session, as the dollar and Treasury yields remained firm ahead of the release of a key figure on expected inflation more late in the week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was unchanged at $2,298.88 an ounce, as of 0127 GMT. Bullion was at its lowest level since June 10 on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $2,309.60.
* The dollar remained near a two-month high, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, while benchmark 10-year yields also rose.
* This week, traders are eagerly awaiting the first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product estimates due on Thursday and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index report on Friday for more clues on the timing and extent of possible rate reductions this year.
* Sales of new single-family homes in the United States fell to a six-month low in May as rising mortgage rates weighed on demand, showing once again that the housing market’s recovery is running out of steam.
* US Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman on Wednesday reiterated her basic view that “inflation will fall further if the policy rate remains stable” and that rate cuts will “eventually” be appropriate if the inflation is sustainably approaching 2%.
* Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said Tuesday the U.S. central bank was on track to cut rates if the economy performed as expected, but she declined to say when the Fed would be able to act.
* Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion without yield.
*Spot gold may continue to fall to the range of $2,275-$2,286 per ounce as it is in a steady downtrend.
* Elsewhere, the European Central Bank could gradually cut interest rates if inflation falls as expected, two ECB policymakers said on Wednesday.
* Spot silver rose 0.1% to $28.78 an ounce, platinum rose 0.1% to $1,011.65 and palladium lost 0.6% to $922.94.
DONNÉES/ÉVÉNEMENTS (GMT) 0900 EU Consumer Confid. Final Juin 1230 US Durable Goods May 1230 US GDP Final Q1 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly (Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru ; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )
