Gold prices held steady during Asian trading hours, holding near record levels as investors await fresh clues about U.S. interest rates from key inflation data due later in the week.
The yellow metal experienced wild swings last week amid heightened volatility in broader financial markets but ended the week marginally higher. The yellow metal also benefited from safe-haven demand amid concerns about a wider war in the Middle East and Ukraine’s offensive against Russia.
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,433.62 an ounce, while gold for December delivery was unchanged at $2,472.20.
Gold remains steady ahead of CPI
Spot gold was also less than $50 away from a record high, but expectations for consumer price inflation data due on Wednesday kept the yellow metal from rising further.
Data is expected to show inflation eased somewhat in July, giving the Federal Reserve more confidence to begin cutting interest rates.
Investors are split over whether the central bank will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points in September.
Low interest rates bode well for gold as they reduce the opportunity cost of investing in the yellow metal.
Other precious metals were volatile, with platinum up 0.2% to $931.40 while silver was unchanged at $27.595.
Copper rises but maintains losses
Among industrial metals, copper prices rose slightly but have lost ground in recent weeks as sentiment toward top importer China has waned.
Concerns about a general economic slowdown also hit prices, given that slowing economic growth is a bad sign for copper demand.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.2% to $8,853.50, while one-month copper rose 0.2% to $3.9912.
Both contracts fell sharply last month, weighed down by a series of weak economic data from China. Of particular concern was data showing China’s copper imports falling for two consecutive months.
New economic data from China is expected this week, with industrial production and retail sales data due on Thursday.
-Investing.com