WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled notably lower on Tuesday as the dollar firmed a bit on rate hike bets after stronger-than-expected housing starts and building permits data for May.
The dollar index climbed to 102.79 around mid morning, but dropped to 102.57 later on, netting just a marginal gain of about 0.05%.
Gold futures for August ended down $23.50 at $1,947.70 an ounce.
Silver futures for July ended lower by $0.892 at $23.234 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $3.8835 per pound, down $0.0055 from the previous close.
Data from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. housing starts unexpectedly skyrocketed in the month of May, soaring by 21.7% to an annual rate of 1.631 million after tumbling by 2.9% to a revised rate of 1.340 million in April.
Economists had expected housing starts to edge down to a rate of 1.400 million from the 1.401 million originally reported for the previous month.
The report said building permits also surged by 5.2% to an annual rate of 1.491 million in May after slumping by 1.4 percent to a revised rate of 1.417 million in April.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to rise to a rate of 1.423 million from the 1.416 million originally reported for the previous month.
Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA says 'gold bears are in control and momentum selling doesn't seem to care that stocks are softer and as Treasury yields come down. Wall Street is still thinking that the Fed will only deliver one more quarter-point rate rise but no one wants to be long gold before what will likely be a shortened week of hawkish Fed speak.'
Moya adds that Fed's Waller will stick to his stance of supporting further hikes, and Bullard will likely confirm he still supports two more rate hikes.
Earlier today, China's central bank cut two key benchmark interest rates in a bid to counter the post-COVID growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
Traders now look ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimonies on Wednesday and Thursday for clues on the monetary policy path ahead.
Elsewhere, the Bank of England is scheduled to announce its policy on Thursday, with economists expecting the central bank to raise interest rates by a quarter point to a 15-year high of 4.75%, marking its 13th straight rate rise.
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