Gold eases as steady dollar dampens appeal, Retail News, ET Retail

Gold prices edged down on Monday as a steady US dollar made bullion less affordable for overseas buyers, while investors awaited further clues on when the US Federal Reserve would deliver its first interest rate cut.

FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,328.20 per ounce as of 0112 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.3% at $2,339.70 per ounce.

The dollar edged up 0.1% against its rivals. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

The US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% last month, in line with forecasts, a development that is unlikely to change expectations that the Fed will hold off cutting interest rates until September.

Fed policymakers sifting through the latest inflation data will find little to fuel a sense of urgency to cut rates, but also nothing to rule out the likelihood of rate reductions starting later this year.

Lower interest rates boost the appeal of holding non-yielding bullion.

China’s gold consumption in the first quarter climbed nearly 6% from a year earlier, the country’s Gold Association said.

Physical gold dealers in India charged premiums last week for the first time in nearly two months as a pullback in domestic prices lured buyers, while premiums in top consumer China slipped.

Impala Platinum said the restructuring of its South African operations could lead to 3,900 job losses as it battles low metal prices.

China’s industrial profits fell in March and slowed gains for the quarter compared to the first two months, raising doubts about the strength of a recovery for the world’s second-biggest economy.

Spot silver fell 0.2% to $27.12 per ounce, platinum was down 0.1% at $915.10, while palladium lost 0.8% to $946.75.